News Analysis India

Tag: Samyukta Kisan Morcha

  • Bandh against farm laws sees highway blockades, train ‘rokos’ as SKM hails responses

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Several trains were cancelled, highways and key roads blocked and many thousands stranded for hours on Monday as a nationwide 10-hour shutdown against the Centre’s three agri laws disrupted lives across parts of India, particularly in the north.

    The 6 am to 4 pm Bharat Bandh, which saw demonstrations and rallies in many places, passed off relatively peacefully with no reports of injuries or serious clashes.

    The impact was felt the most around Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, the centre of the farm protests, and also in large pockets of Kerala, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.

    Protesters blocked highways and arterial roads and squatted on tracks in several places from morning as the shutdown called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farmer unions, got underway.

    The blockade was lifted at 4 pm.

    The SKM claimed in a statement that its call for a shutdown had received an “unprecedented and historic” response from more than 23 states and not a single untoward incident was reported from anywhere.

    “Reports have been pouring in about the overwhelmingly positive and resounding response to the Bharat Bandh call, to mark 10 months of peaceful protests with rightful demands from the ‘annadaatas’ of the country,” it said.

    The day marks one year since President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the three controversial laws and 10 months since thousands of farmers set up camp at Delhi’s border points to voice their protest.

    Looking ahead, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said at an online discussion that a solution could only be reached through dialogue and not in the courts.

    “I don’t know what is going to be the end of this protest but the movement has begun and the country’s youth, which often remained away from discussion on farming-related issues, is also joining it,” he said.

    Tikait also issued a statement to say that the response had shown their protest is a “pan India” one.

    The agitation, he said, can end today if the Centre agrees to a rollback.

    “Some people may have faced inconvenience, which is natural, but they should forget it for just one day in the name of farmers,” he added.

    Though life in large parts of India was unhindered by the shutdown, north India felt the pinch with about 25 trains being affected and massive jams that prevented the cross border movement of commuters as well as trucks carrying essentials.

    The Delhi-NCR region, including the satellite towns of Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Noida, where thousands cross the borders each day was particularly hit.

    Delhi itself was mostly unaffected, but there was chaos at its borders with traffic snarls that stretched through much of the day and commuters who couldn’t get to office, or college or even to that important doctor’s appointment.

    Images of cars waiting to be let through, backed up bumper to bumper as far as the eye could see, told their own story.

    While there were instances of unwell patients being let through, among those stuck at the Delhi-Gurgaon border was a man who couldn’t make it for his appointment at the Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon.

    Farmers blocked other roads leading into the national capital, including at Ghazipur in western Uttar Pradesh.

    Not far away in Sonipat in Haryana, some farmers squatted on tracks.

    In nearby Patiala in Punjab, too, members of the BKU-Ugrahan sat on the tracks to register their protest.

    Punjab saw a complete shutdown in many places, including Moga where farmers blocked national highways.

    Farmer leaders from Punjab have, in many ways, spearheaded the year-long protest.

    “#I Stand With Farmers & appeal the Union Govt to repeal the three anti-farmer laws. Our farmers have been struggling for their rights since more than a year & it is high time that their voice is heard”, Punjab’s new chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi said in a tweet.

    According to the SKM, people gathered at more than 500 locations in Punjab to express their support to the bandh.

    In neighbouring Haryana, highways in Sirsa, Fatehabad and Kurukshetra were blocked.

    There were also reports of farmers squatting on rail tracks at a few places in the two states.

    “More than 20 locations are being blocked in Delhi, Ambala, and Firozepur divisions. About 25 trains are affected due to this,” a Northern Railway spokesperson said.

    Many non-NDA parties extended support to the bandh.

    These included the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party, Telugu Desam Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Left parties and Swaraj India.

    The YSR Congress government in Andhra Pradesh had also announced support to the Bharat Bandh.

    In West Bengal, life was largely unaffected but Left activists blocked roads and railway tracks in many places.

    Images from Kolkata showed protesters swarming a section of a railway track.

    Similar images came in from West Midnapore with Left Front supporters blocking the IIT Kharagpur-Hijri railway line.

    The ruling Trinamool Congress stayed away but said it supported the demands of the SKM.

    Elsewhere in the region, vehicular movement was impacted and shops shut in several places in Jharkhand, including in the state capital Ranchi and Dumka.

    Road blockades led to congestion on key highways.

    In Bihar and Odisha, too, there was a mixed response.

    RJD and CPI members blocked railway lines in Patna, Ara, Jahanabad and Madhepura in Bihar and several roads were closed too but markets were mostly open and offices registered usual attendance.

    Most private schools in the state were, however, shut.

    In Odisha, reports came in of protests at different places, including in Bhubaneswar where demonstrators blocked the track at the Bhubaneswar station.

    In Kerala, where the strike was supported by the ruling LDF and the opposition Congress-led UDF, KSRTC bus services were off the road with almost all trade unions in the state taking part.

    All emergency establishments and essential services, including hospitals, medical stores, relief and rescue work and people attending to personal emergencies were exempted from the strike.

    Expressing support for protesting farmers, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the farmers’ non-violent ‘satyagraha’ is still resolute.

    Posting rhyming lines in Hindi on Twitter, Gandhi said, “Kisano ka ahimsak satyagraha aaj bhi akhand hai, lekin shoshankar sarkar ko ye nahi pasand hai, isliye aaj Bharat Bandh hai (Farmers’ non-violent satyagraha is resolute even today, but the exploitative government does not like this and that’s why it is Bharat Bandh today).

    The government and farmer unions have held 11 rounds of talks so far, the last being on January 22, to break the deadlock and end the farmers’ protest.

    Talks have not resumed following widespread violence during a tractor rally by protesting farmers on January 26.

    The three laws — The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020 — were passed by Parliament in September last year.

    Farmer groups have alleged the laws will end the ‘mandi’ and the MSP procurement systems and leave farmers at the mercy of big corporates.

    The government has rejected these apprehensions as misplaced and asserted that these steps will help increase farmers’ income.

    The affected train services became normal in the afternoon after people moved off rail tracks following the end of the 10-hour bandh, officials said.

    The shutdown disrupted lives across parts of India, particularly in the north.

    Protesters blocked highways and arterial roads, and squatted on tracks in several places from the morning as the shutdown called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farmer unions, got underway.

    The blockade was lifted at 4 pm.

    “More than 20 locations in Delhi, Ambala, and Ferozepur divisions had been blocked. About 50 trains were affected due to this. All train movement is normal now since 4:30 pm,” a spokesperson for the Northern Railway said.

    Officials said the Delhi-Amritsar Shan-e-Punjab, New Delhi-Moga Express, Old Delhi-Pathankot Express, Vande Bharat Express from New Delhi to Katra, and Amritsar Shatabdi are some of the trains that have been affected.

    The bandh started at 6 am and continued till 4 pm.

    In the North-Western Railway zone, rail traffic on the Rewari-Bhiwani, Bhiwani-Rohtak, Bhiwani-Hisar and Hanumangarh-Sadulpur-Sriganganagar-Fatuhi sections were affected due to the shutdown.

    According to Lt.Shashi Kiran, Chief Public Relations Officer, North-Western Railway, the Bathinda-Lalgarh special train service as well as the Sriganganagar-Ambala special train service were cancelled due to the bandh.

    Partially cancelled train services include the Jaipur-Daulatpur Chowk Special train service which left Jaipur on Monday but will operate only till Dhulkot.

    The Daulatpur Chowk-Jaipur Special will leave Ambala on Monday.

    It will run partially between Daulatpur Chowk-Ambala stations.

    Other partially operated services included the Tilakbridge-Sri Ganganagar Special train service which will operate from Rewari in place of Tilak Bridge, the Rewari-Jodhpur Special train which operated from Sadulpur instead of Rewari and the Delhi Sarai Rohilla- Bikaner Special train service which left Delhi Sarai on Monday but will operate up to Sri Ganganagar.

    The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a united front of over 40 farmer unions protesting against three agriculture laws of the Centre, on Monday said its call for a “Bharat Bandh” received an “unprecedented and historic” response from more than 23 states and not a single untoward incident was reported from anywhere.

    It, however, said Monday’s events were “unfortunately marked by three farmer deaths”, adding that more details are awaited.

    The morcha claimed that the response to the bandh call was “more widespread than before” and nearly all opposition political parties extended an unconditional support to it.

    “Reports have been pouring in about the overwhelmingly positive and resounding response to the Bharat Bandh call to mark 10 months of peaceful protests with rightful demands from the ‘annadaatas’ of the country.

    Spontaneous participation from various sections of the society was witnessed at most places,” it said in a statement.

    The SKM said the bandh was observed peacefully in “more than 23 states” and not a single untoward incident was reported.

    “Reports have come in from hundreds of locations in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal about the bandh, and numerous events to accompany the same,” the statement said.

    In Punjab alone, people gathered at more than 500 locations to express their support to the bandh.

    Numerous non-farmer associations also stood in solidarity with the farmers, it said.

    “Life came to a near standstill in several states like Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, Jharkhand and Bihar. Reports indicate that in several parts of southern Assam, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, this was the situation. Scores of protests marked the day in states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand,” the SKM said.

    “It is patently clear that the people of India are tired of the government’s adamant and unreasonable stand on the protesting farmers’ legitimate demands and anti-people policies in numerous sectors,” it added.

    The morcha also said the Uttar Pradesh government insulted farmers by offering a meagre Rs 25 hike per quintal of sugarcane.

    Farmers are not ready to settle for anything less than Rs 425 per quintal of sugarcane, it said.

    Earlier in the day, several trains were cancelled, highways and key roads blocked and many thousands stranded for hours as the 10-hour shutdown against the three farm laws disrupted lives in parts of the country, particularly in the north.

    Protesters blocked highways and arterial roads and squatted on railway tracks at several places from 6 am as the shutdown called by the SKM got underway.

    The blockade was lifted at 4 pm.

    The day marks a year since President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the three controversial laws and 10 months since thousands of farmers set up camps at Delhi’s border points to voice their protest.

  • Bharat Bandh saw spontaneous participation from various sections of society: Samyukta Kisan Morcha

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a united forum of farmer unions protesting the three farm laws, on Monday said its call for a Bharat Bandh received “unprecedented and historic” response from more than 23 states and not a single untoward incident was reported from anywhere.

    “Reports have been pouring in about the overwhelmingly positive and resounding response to the Bharat Bandh call to mark 10 months of peaceful protests with rightful demands from the ‘annadaatas’ of the country.

    Spontaneous participation from various sections of the society was witnessed at most places,” it said in a statement.

    The SKM said the bandh was observed peacefully in “more than 23 states” and not a single untoward incident was reported.

    It also appreciated state governments and political parties that extended support to the bandh.

    “Reports have come in from hundreds of locations from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal about the bandh, and numerous events to accompany the same,” the statement said.

    In Punjab alone, people gathered at more than 500 locations to express their support to the bandh.

    Numerous non-farmer associations also stood in solidarity with farmers, it said.

    “Life came to a near standstill in several states like Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, Jharkhand and Bihar. Reports indicate that in several parts of southern Assam, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, this was the situation.

    Scores of protests marked the day in states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand,” the SKM said in the statement.

  • Bharat Bandh: Major mandis, markets remain shut in Rajasthan’s agrarian districts, farmers hold rallies

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: The effect of the “Bharat Bandh” called by farmers against three agriculture laws of the Centre was visible in many districts of Rajasthan, including agriculture-dominated Ganganagar and Hanumangarh where the major mandis and markets remained closed.

    Farmers took out rallies on the major roads and held meetings.

    ALSO READ | Bharat Bandh: Farmers block highways at many places in Punjab

    The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is leading the agitation against the three farm laws, has given the call for a “Bharat Bandh” to be observed on Monday.

    The effect of the shutdown was visible in many districts of the state, including Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, Bikaner, Sikar and Nagaur.

    Mandis and markets were partially closed in the cities and towns of these districts. The agitating farmers blocked the major roads and held meetings. The bandh also affected train services in the border districts.

    In Jaipur, farmers led by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) took out a rally on tractor-trolleys.

    ALSO READ | Ready to agitate for 10 years, but won’t allow farm laws to be implemented: Rakesh Tikait ahead of ‘Bharat Bandh’

    Enacted in September last year, the three farm laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

    However, the protesting farmers have expressed their apprehension that the legislations would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price (MSP) and do away with the “mandi” (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

  • Farmers’ Bharat Bandh: Haryana Police issues advisory as SKM urges for peace

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: In view of the ‘Bharat Bandh’ call given by various farmer organisations on September 27, elaborate arrangements have been made to maintain peace and order, the Haryana Police said on Sunday.

    The call has been given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of over 40 farm unions, spearheading the farmers’ agitation against three central agri laws, which were enacted in September last year.

    In an advisory, police also stated that people could face traffic disruptions on various roads and highways of the state due to the ‘bandh’ on Monday.

    Elaborate arrangements have been put in place by the civil and the police administrations in Haryana according to directions of the state government, a Haryana police spokesperson said.

    “The primary objective of these arrangements is to maintain public peace and order, prevent any kind of violence and to facilitate the functioning of traffic and public transport systems across the state,” he said.

    “As per reports, it is expected that agitating groups may sit on ‘dharna’ on various roads and highways and block them for some time. The national and state highways in the state may see some traffic disruptions for several hours,” the spokesman said.

    Citizens are being informed in advance so that they are able to plan and modify their journey accordingly to avoid any inconvenience, he said.

    Districts have also been asked to make necessary arrangements in this regard, the spokesman said.

    The Haryana Police has appealed to farmers to raise their issues peacefully without disturbing the law and order situation.

    “Stern action, as per the law, will be taken against elements trying to disturb public order under the guise of bandh call,” the police spokesman said.

    The SKM had earlier appealed to the people to join the bandh.

    “As this historic struggle completes ten months, Samyukt Kisan Morcha has called Monday (September 27) to be observed as ‘Bharat Bandh’ against the anti-farmer Modi government,” it had said in a statement.

    “The SKM appeals to every Indian to join this nationwide movement and make the ‘Bharat Bandh’ a resounding success.

    In particular, we appeal to all organisations of workers, traders, transporters, businessmen, students, youth and women and all social movements to extend solidarity with the farmers that day,” the SKM had said.

    The bandh will be held from 6 AM to 4 PM during which all government and private offices, educational and other institutions, shops, industries and commercial establishments as well as public events and functions will be closed throughout the country, it had said.

    All emergency establishments and essential services, including hospitals, medical stores, relief and rescue work and people attending to personal emergencies will be exempted.

    Farmers from different parts of the country, especially Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting at Delhi borders since November last year, demanding the repeal of the three contentious farm laws that they fear would do away with the Minimum Support Price system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.

    The government, however, has been projecting the three laws as major agricultural reforms.

    Over 10 rounds of talks between the two parties have failed to break the deadlock.

    Many non-NDA parties have extended support to the nationwide 10-hour strike on Monday called by farmers protesting against the three agri laws under the aegis of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM).

    The outfit on Sunday appealed for complete peace during the Bandh and urged all Indians to join the strike.

    “It was on September 27, 2020 that President Shri Ram Nath Kovind assented to and brought into force the three anti-farmer black laws last year. Tomorrow, there will be a total Bharat Bandh observed around the country from 6 AM to 4 PM, ” the SKM, which is an umbrella body of over 40 farmer unions, said in a statement.

    Farmer unions along with their supporters, including trade unions, have made detailed plans to ensure that life remains suspended tomorrow across the country, except for emergency services, it said “It is a day to express support to the annadatas (farmers) of the country, the ones who keep all Indians alive,” it said.

    The Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party, Telugu Desam Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Left parties and Swaraj India have backed the Bandh call.

    Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said the Congress and its workers will extend full support to the peaceful ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by farmer unions.

    “We believe in the right of our farmers and we will stand by them in their fight against the black farm laws,” he said in a tweet.

    “All PCC presidents, chiefs of frontal organisations are requested to go out in front with our Annadatas in their peaceful Bharat Bandh across the country,” Venugopal said.

    In a tweet in Hindi, BSP chief Mayawati said, “The farmers of the country do not endorse the three farm laws brought in a hurry by the Centre, and are sad about it”.

    She said her party supports their call for a peaceful bandh and asked the Centre to hold proper consultations with farmers and bring a new law with their agreement.

    In Kerala, both the ruling LDF and the Congress-led UDF have supported the nationwide farmers’ strike, even as the BJP denounced the hartal as “anti-people”.

    INTUC state president R Chandrasekharan told PTI that since the hartal has the support of both LDF and UDF, the state is expected to come to a standstill on Monday.

    He said except for RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), all other trade unions are supporting the strike.

    He said there would be no blocking of vehicles or forced shutting down of shops.

    The YSR Congress government in Andhra Pradesh has also announced support to the Bharat Bandh.

    Farmers from different parts of the country, especially Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting at Delhi borders since November last year, demanding the repeal of the three contentious farm laws that they fear would do away with the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.

    They are also seeking a legal guarantee for MSP.

    The government and farmer unions have held 11 rounds of talks so far, the last being on January 22, to break the deadlock and end the farmers’ protest.

    Talks have not resumed following widespread violence during a tractor rally by farmers on January 26 when protesters had stormed the Red Fort and hoisted a religious flag on the ramparts.

    “Punjab’s new Chief Minister extended his support, and in Jharkhand, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and RJD have been jointly planning for the success of the Bharat Bandh. In Tamil Nadu, the ruling DMK supports the bandh,” the statement by the SKM said.

    In the national capital, the SKM said, central trade unions will organise a protest rally at Jantar Mantar at 11 AM.

    “Several bar associations and local units of All India Lawyers’ Union have extended their support,” the farmers’ body said.

    The Delhi Police said it has taken adequate security measures like intensified patrolling and deployment of extra personnel at pickets in border areas of the national capital.

    Every vehicle entering the national capital is being thoroughly checked, according to the police.

    A senior police officer said no protestor will be allowed to enter Delhi from the three protest sites at the city’s borders “In view of Bharat Bandh, adequate security arrangements have been made as a precautionary measure. Pickets at the border areas have been strengthened and all vital installations, including India Gate and Vijay Chowk will have adequate deployment,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Deepak Yadav said.

    The SKM said that the birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh on September 28 will be marked by the farmers’ movement and urged the youth and students to join in large numbers at the morchas to mark the day.

    The SKM claimed that more than 605 farmers have lost their lives in the agitation so far.

    It called for the closure of all government and private offices, educational and other institutions, shops, industries and commercial establishments as well as public events.

    All emergency establishments and essential services, including hospitals, medical stores, relief and rescue work and people attending to personal emergencies will be exempted, it said.

    The three laws — The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020 — were passed by Parliament in September last year.

    The government has been projecting the three laws as major agricultural reforms.

  • Congress to extend full support to ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by farmer unions

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday asked all its workers, state unit chiefs and heads of frontal organizations to take part in the ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by farmer unions on September 27 to protest the Centre’s three agri laws.

    The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the umbrella body of over 40 farm unions spearheading the farmers’ agitation, had earlier appealed to the people to join the bandh.

    Congress general secretary (organization), K C Venugopal, said the Congress and its workers will extend our full support to the peaceful ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by farmer unions on Monday.

    “We believe in the right of our farmers and we will stand by them in their fight against the black farm laws,” he said in a tweet.

    “All PCC Presidents, Chiefs of Frontal Organizations are requested to go out in front with our Annadatas in their peaceful Bharat Bandh across the country,” Venugopal said.

    The government and farmer unions have held 11 rounds of talks so far, the last being on January 22, to break the deadlock and end the farmers’ protest.

    Talks have not resumed following widespread violence during a tractor rally by protesting farmers on January 26.

    The three laws — The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020 — were passed by the Parliament in September last year.

    Farmer groups have alleged that these laws will end the ‘mandi’ and the MSP procurement systems and leave the farmers at the mercy of big corporates, even as the government has rejected these apprehensions as misplaced and asserted that these steps will help increase farmers’ income.

  • Left parties urge people to support ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by SKM on September 27

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Left parties on Friday appealed to the people to support the ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha on September 27 to protest the Centre’s three agri laws.

    The SKM is the umbrella body of over 40 farm unions spearheading the farmers’ agitation.

    In a joint statement, the CPI, CPI(M), All India Forward Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) said the “historic” farmers’ struggle demanding the repeal of the agri-laws and a legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price is in its 10th month, and urged people to come out in support of their cause.

    The parties accused the government of being “obdurate” and said the Centre is “refusing to engage with struggling kisans through talks.”

    “The Left parties while condemning this obstinacy of the Modi government demand that these agri-laws be repealed immediately, guaranteed MSP be implemented, the National Monetisation Pipeline be scrapped and Labour Codes repealed.

    “The Left parties call upon all their units to actively work for the success of Bharat Bandh. The Left Parties appeal to the people to support this Bharat Bandh,” the statement said.

  • ‘Will force our way if they stop us’: Farmers’ mahapanchayat in UP on September 5 

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: The preparations are complete for the show of strength by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella organisation of farmers protesting against the centre’s three farm laws, by organising a mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.

    In an election year, the SKM intends to use the mahapanchayat to mobilise people against the ruling dispensation in western UP. The SKM is likely to announce ‘Mission UP’ at the Muzaffarnagar mahapanchayat.

    “This mahapanchayat is not just linked to elections. In UP, farmers are facing hardship. Besides the power tariffs, the sugarcane price hasn’t gone up since last 2016. The Centre has increased it by five rupees, five paise per kilogram. Are you insulting farmers?” Rakesh Tikait said.

    As per the BKU claims, around 300 active organisations of farmers, labourers, employees, students, teachers, women, and social groups are expected to attend the mahapanchayat.

    Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait said that it was impossible to quote the number of people who would reach for the mahapanchayat. “But I can promise people will reach in huge numbers,” Tikait said.

    Further, he added that no one could stop the farmers from reaching the mahapanchayat, and if they were stopped, they would force their way to the venue.

    ALSO READ | Farmers see plot as parties get into poll mode

    As per the BKU sources, so far, representatives from 22 states had sent their confirmation to attend the event. “In the mahapanchayat, maximum farmers from UP, Punjab, Harayana, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand will take part,” said Tikait.

    Around 2,000 farmers are expected to reach Muzaffarnagar from Punjab. From protest sites at the Delhi borders, 400-500 farmers will leave for the mahapanchayat. The farmers are leaving in shifts in buses from Tikri and Ghazipur borders.

    However, people were mainly coming from the villages, said Tikait. Farmers from Maharashtra and others parts of India are also expected to join in.

    A total of 500 buses have been hired to transport farmers to Muzaffarnagar.

    Farmers will be holding 18 such mahapanchayats in Uttar Pradesh in the first phase of their campaign.

    According to SKM sources, some 5,000 volunteers were entrusted with a smooth movement so the farmers reach the maidans for the mahapanchayat on Sunday.

    “All arrangements have been made. We will have to see who all are able to reach the main site. We have arranged 12-14 screens and 4-5 fields for those who are unable to reach there due to the crowd. Roads and parking areas will be jammed,” Rakesh Tikait said.

    However, the district administration is also alert and six companies of the provincial armed constabulary (PAC) and two companies of rapid action force (RAF) will be deployed for the mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar on Sunday.

    According to Saharanpur range DOG Preetinder Singh, the event would be videographed while five SSPs, seven ASPs, and 40 police inspectors will be deployed on security duty.

  • Samyukta Kisan Morcha says BJP’s ‘Tiranga Yatra’ in Haryana plan to instigate, defame farmers

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Sunday appealed to Haryana farmers not to oppose the ‘Tiranga Yatra’ of the state’s BJP unit claiming that it was a “devious plan” to instigate and defame farmers.

    The umbrella body of 40 farmer unions said in a statement that the other programmes of boycott and flag protests against the BJP and the JJP will continue.

    “The proposed ‘Tiranga Yatra’ of the BJP’s Haryana unit is mainly to instigate farmers and defame them.

    SKM urged farmers to see through this devious plan of BJP, and to not let this dirty tactic, under the guise of the national flag, succeed,” it said in the statement.

    The Haryana BJP’s two-week-long ‘Tiranga Yatra’ ahead of the 75th Independence Day began from Bhiwani on Sunday, with party’s state chief O P Dhankar claiming that thousands of farmers also joined the event.

    Dhankar, along with state Agriculture Minister J P Dalal, rode a tractor with tricolour fixed on its both sides during the ‘yatra’, which was taken out on a 30-km-long route from Bahal to Loharu.

    The SKM also said the ‘Kisan Sansad’ will continue at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Monday.

    “The Kisan Sansad, despite the site of the Sansad in Jantar Mantar being flooded with water, is functioning in a disciplined manner, with detailed deliberations.

    In Chhattisgarh, a parallel Kisan Sansad was run by the state Kisan Sabha on Friday, in solidarity with the Kisan Sansad near the Parliament,” it said.

    The Kisan Sansad is part of the latest strategy of the farmers who have been protesting against the Centre’s three contentious farm laws at multiple Delhi borders since November last year.

    The farmers have expressed fear that the new laws will eliminate the Minimum Support Price system and leave them at the mercy of the big corporations.

    Over 10 rounds of talks with the government that has been projecting the laws as major agricultural reforms have failed to break the deadlock between the two parties.

    As part of these Kisan Sansad sessions, 200 farmers from the protest sites participate in a mock Parliament session at Jantar Mantar during which issues concerning the farming community are discussed.

  • Farmers block highway in Sirsa; demand release of protesters, withdrawal of sedition charges 

    By PTI
    SIRSA: Farmers on Wednesday blocked a national highway here at three different points to demand the release of five protesters who were arrested last week following an attack on Haryana Assembly Deputy Speaker Ranbir Gangwa’s car.

    The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of various farmers’ unions, spearheading stir against the farm laws, has also demanded the withdrawal of cases including sedition charges against over 100 protesters booked in connection with the incident involving the attack on Gangwa’s car on July 11.

    Meanwhile, the indefinite fast of farmer leader Baldev Singh Sirsa as a protest against the arrests and registration of cases entered the fourth day on Wednesday.

    A team of the health department conducted Sirsa’s medical checkup at the protest site.

    ALSO READ | Farmers get Delhi Police’s permission to hold protests at Jantar Mantar

    The protesters blocked the highway for two hours at different points, including Khuian Malana toll plaza and Panjuana village.

    While emergency vehicles were allowed to pass, the blockade, however, resulted in traffic jams on both sides of the road.

    Police in strength had been deployed to prevent any untoward incident.

    Many passengers, including some students, were seen getting down from the buses and walking on foot and using other means to reach their destinations.

    The police have booked over 100 people, mostly unidentified, for sedition, obstructing public servants in discharge of their duty, murderous attempt on an elected representative and damaging public property after the attack on the deputy speaker’s vehicle.

    The protesting farmers had earlier claimed that the administration has not been able to show any video or other evidence to prove that the farmers indulged in violence on July 11.

  • Delhi Police to meet farmers’ delegation on Sunday ahead of planned Parliament protest

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Officials of the Delhi Police will meet a delegation of farmers on Sunday ahead of their planned protest in front of parliament during its monsoon session to demand scrapping of the contentious farm laws and a legal guarantee on MSP.

    The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of over 40 farmer unions, has planned that around 200 farmers will hold protests outside parliament every day during the monsoon session.

    The leaders have not commented on whether they have permission to hold demonstrations outside parliament but have maintained that the protests will be “peaceful”.

    A tractor parade in Delhi on January 26, that was to highlight the demands of farmer unions to repeal three new agri laws, had dissolved into anarchy on the streets of the national capital as thousands of protesters broke through barriers, fought with the police, overturned vehicles and hoisted a religious flag from the ramparts of the iconic Red Fort.

    A senior police officer said the meeting will take place with a delegation of farmers on Sunday before their proposed protest.

    During the meeting, police officials may suggest alternative venues in Delhi for the protest, but nothing concrete has been planned yet.

    The SKM had earlier said at a press conference that two days before the monsoon session begins, a “chetavani patra” (warning letter) will be issued to all opposition MPs to protest the farm laws inside the House.

    Thousands of farmers from across the country have been agitating at the Delhi borders against the three farm laws that they claim will do away with the Minimum Support Price system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.

    Over 10 rounds of talks with the government, which has been projecting the laws at major agricultural reforms, have failed to break the deadlock between the two parties.