Farmers Movement Archive

‘Govt. is trying to dilute farmers’ protest’

The government wants to divide us and put an end to the protest at any cost, said farmer leaders and protesters at the Singhu border after Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that ‘Leftists and Maoists have infiltrated the farmers protest’. Avtar Singh Mehma, State press secretary of Krantikari Kisan Union Punjab, said that demand for public intellectuals, students, and activists who have been imprisoned for speaking ‘for the greater good of the nation’ has been on the list of demands since the very beginning of the protest, months ago. ‘Nothing new’ “This is nothing new we are demanding in the posters that show a few imprisoned activists. They [government] are bringing it up now because their tagging us as Khalistanis didn’t work,” he said, adding that the jailed intellectuals and activists have only spoken for their rights and didn’t indulge in any violence. Hence, their imprisonment is wrong. According to Mr. Avtar, calling protesters Leftists or Maoists is the government’s way of dividing them. “They call Punjabis as Khalistanis, students as Urban Naxals and Maoists. The government is basically rattled right now. Instead or listening to us, they are indulging in mudslinging,” he said. Baldev Singh Zeera, State general secretary of Bharat Kisan Union Krantikari, said that the farmers started the agitation. “They called us Khalistani and now as we are proceeding and farmers from Haryana has also joined us, their theory fell flat. Now, they’ve begun using words like Maoists for us”. Activists’ release He said that the demand of activists’ release has been there since the beginning, but at that time, no one called them Leftists or Maoists. “They’re not able to get what they want. With the protest only strengthening, they are finding ways to crack us up. Now, they’ve changed our tag from Khalistani to Maoists,” he said. Harjeet Ravi, State secretary of Kisan Sangharsh Committee, said that they’re all farmers and talking about farming only. “We are not asking for separate farming, separate State or separate language. All we want is for the laws to be repealed,” he said. However, a protesting farmer who identified himself as Harinder Singh Mann Singh from Ludhiana distanced himself from the demand for the release of imprisoned activists and said, “We are here only for the roll back of farm laws. There are so many people here and one can’t control what people say,” he said. Another protester who identified himself as Devi Singh (26) from Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli said that name-calling and tagging is an old trick of the government. “If Hindus protest, they’re called Communists, if Muslims protest, they’re called Pakistanis,” he said. They’re [Central government] not able to get what they want. With the protest only strengthening, they are finding ways to crack us up. Now, they’ve changed our tag from Khalistani to Maoists Baldev Singh Zeera State general secretary of Bharat Kisan Union Krantikari

The Hindu

2020-12-13

NEW DELHI