NEW DELHI: In what appears to expanding the wishlist after getting political backing on the ground, the farmer unions agitating for repeal of three central farm laws have appealed to their supporters to take their ongoing movement to a pan-India level through stronger farmers-workers unity to achieve a larger goal.
“Farmers’ struggle is now not just limited to a movement against three farm laws, it’s not just for increasing (and getting legal guarantee to) minimum support price (MSP), and it’s not just to teach a lesson to the anti-farmer government, but it’s now a movement to save democracy in the country,” said Yogendra Yadav, leader of Jai Kisan Andolan, while summing up what the farmers are now looking at after six months of their struggle.
Yadav who represents Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a joint platform of farmer unions protesting against the farm laws, said, “This movement is now not just a farmers’ movement, but also a movement for everyone in this country.” He was speaking at the Shahjahanpur Border (Delhi-Jaipur Highway) protest site about the protesters’ future plans on Wednesday.
His remarks come in the backdrop of support of 12 opposition political parties, including Congress, TMC, NCP, DKM, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, JMM, RJD, CPI, CPI(M) and others, to the SKM. Such a coalition with putting farmers at front is expected to continue in the run up to the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab early next year if the Centre doesn’t find a solution to the farmers’ key demands including repeal of farm laws and giving legal guarantee to procurement at MSP. The BKU (Tikait) leader, Rakesh Tikait, has already spoken about continuing the farmers’ protests till 2024 (the country’s general elections), if needed.
Though the SKM has, so far, not spelt out its goal beyond the farmers’ key demands, its other constituent such left-linked All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) too on Wednesday spoke about larger worker-peasant coalition in coming days.
“The SKM will soon take decisions on the future course of the movement,” said Hannan Mollah, general secretary of the AIKS.
“If the Modi government still refuses to listen to reason, the farmers and workers have resolved to intensify and broaden their struggle to a pan-India level on the basis of an even stronger worker-peasant unity,” Mollah said in a joint statement with AIKS’s president Ashok Dhawale.
The SKM has already resolved to continue its struggle. “The Modi government is warned yet again that farmers are not going to retreat from this agitation until their demands are fully met. As the days and months go by, their resolve is only growing stronger, and their support base only expanding,” said the SKM in a statement of farmer leaders including Darshan Pal, Gurnam Singh Charuni, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Yudhvir Singh and Jagjit Singh Dallewal among others.
On Thursday, it said, “As has been stated by many leaders in different locations yesterday (Wednesday), farmers are willing to walk into the next general elections and stay put till 2024 where farm livelihoods will be made a key issue, if their demands are not fulfilled by the Modi government. Several trade unions have also joined hands with farmers in marking yesterday (Wednesday) as a Black Day. Workers are also struggling against the anti-worker labour codes brought in by the Modi government, and the overall anti-people policy direction is similar in that case too.”
“Farmers’ struggle is now not just limited to a movement against three farm laws, it’s not just for increasing (and getting legal guarantee to) minimum support price (MSP), and it’s not just to teach a lesson to the anti-farmer government, but it’s now a movement to save democracy in the country,” said Yogendra Yadav, leader of Jai Kisan Andolan, while summing up what the farmers are now looking at after six months of their struggle.
Yadav who represents Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a joint platform of farmer unions protesting against the farm laws, said, “This movement is now not just a farmers’ movement, but also a movement for everyone in this country.” He was speaking at the Shahjahanpur Border (Delhi-Jaipur Highway) protest site about the protesters’ future plans on Wednesday.
His remarks come in the backdrop of support of 12 opposition political parties, including Congress, TMC, NCP, DKM, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, JMM, RJD, CPI, CPI(M) and others, to the SKM. Such a coalition with putting farmers at front is expected to continue in the run up to the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab early next year if the Centre doesn’t find a solution to the farmers’ key demands including repeal of farm laws and giving legal guarantee to procurement at MSP. The BKU (Tikait) leader, Rakesh Tikait, has already spoken about continuing the farmers’ protests till 2024 (the country’s general elections), if needed.
Though the SKM has, so far, not spelt out its goal beyond the farmers’ key demands, its other constituent such left-linked All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) too on Wednesday spoke about larger worker-peasant coalition in coming days.
“The SKM will soon take decisions on the future course of the movement,” said Hannan Mollah, general secretary of the AIKS.
“If the Modi government still refuses to listen to reason, the farmers and workers have resolved to intensify and broaden their struggle to a pan-India level on the basis of an even stronger worker-peasant unity,” Mollah said in a joint statement with AIKS’s president Ashok Dhawale.
The SKM has already resolved to continue its struggle. “The Modi government is warned yet again that farmers are not going to retreat from this agitation until their demands are fully met. As the days and months go by, their resolve is only growing stronger, and their support base only expanding,” said the SKM in a statement of farmer leaders including Darshan Pal, Gurnam Singh Charuni, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Yudhvir Singh and Jagjit Singh Dallewal among others.
On Thursday, it said, “As has been stated by many leaders in different locations yesterday (Wednesday), farmers are willing to walk into the next general elections and stay put till 2024 where farm livelihoods will be made a key issue, if their demands are not fulfilled by the Modi government. Several trade unions have also joined hands with farmers in marking yesterday (Wednesday) as a Black Day. Workers are also struggling against the anti-worker labour codes brought in by the Modi government, and the overall anti-people policy direction is similar in that case too.”