One day after his conversations with the Center were inconclusive, farmers’ unions protesting against the new farm laws said they would hold a “tractor gear“On the East and West Peripheral Highways on January 7, as a” rehearsal “for January 26. The next round of talks with the Center is scheduled for January 8.
Last week, Samyukt Kisan Morcha, the body that groups together farmers’ unions that camp outside Delhi to press their demands, had said that if their demands are not met by January 26, farmers would lead a “parade of tractors “in Delhi.
At a press conference on the Singhu border, where farmers have been camping since November 26, Yogendra Yadav, political activist and member of Samyukt Kisan Morcha, said: “The seventh round of talks in seven months with the government failed. , as he refused to repeal the three agricultural laws. We will go ahead with the plan to launch a tractor march on the KMP Expressway on January 7. “
He said the tractors would depart from the Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders, and Rewasan in Haryana, towards the eastern and western peripheral highways, and meet midway. “This can be seen as a rehearsal for what will happen on January 26,” he said.
Haryana Bhartiya Kisan Union spokesman Rakesh Bains said the march of the tractors was scheduled for Wednesday, but was postponed to Thursday in light of continued rains.
Haryana DGP Manoj Yadava also confirmed that the tractor march has been postponed for a day. The DGP told The Indian Express that they had not yet received a call on whether to allow the tractor to travel on the KMP highway or not.
“Our talks with the leaders of the farmers’ unions are underway. After that, we will receive a call on the permit issue, “he added.
Citing information received from agricultural leaders, a senior police officer said: “The farmers have also abandoned the plan of a parikrama (bypass) on the KMP highway where they had previously planned to cover the entire 270 km stretch of the highway. peripheral. . “
He added: “According to the new plan, 1,000 tractors will now be moved to the Tikri border from the Kundli border on the KMP highway. Likewise, 1,000 tractors will be loaded onto the highway at the Kundli border to move to the Tikri border. At the highway toll plaza, they will make U-turns to return to their original places. A similar program will be carried out from the village of Rewasan in the Mewat district, where a road connects the KMP. Here, 200-250 tractors will take the KMP highway up to the Mathura highway in the Palwal district and return from there. In the same way, around 200 tractors will move to Rewasan village from Palwal and return from there. “
A farmer leader from Haryana, Suresh Koth, said: “The tractors will move to KMP Expressway as part of the rehearsal for our tractor parade scheduled for January 26.”
Peasant leaders have advised farmers in distant areas of Haryana to hold tractor marches in their respective areas, but there are still signs that farmers will move to the national capital from many areas of the state. Azad Singh Palwa, the Khap leader of Jind, said farmers will start moving to Delhi from villages early in the morning.
“It is a 4 to 5 hour race for the tractors to reach Delhi from the Jind villages. So, we have suggested that they move to Delhi early in the morning, ”he added.
The leaders of the agricultural groups have indicated that they will not leave the borders of Delhi empty-handed, saying that “this is a question of survival.”
“Rather than commit suicide at home after companies take over our land, we would rather fight. We have already asked the government to shoot us or let us live by repealing laws against farmers, ”said Suresh Koth.
Farmers sit in the back of their tractor wagon as they continue to block a road on the Delhi-Haryana border on the outskirts of New Delhi. (AP Photo / Manish Swarup)
“It is up to the government how long they want the fuss to continue. But we only have one agenda: to get the three agricultural laws repealed, ”added Koth, who is the president of an agricultural company Akhil Bhartiya Sanghrash Samiti.
Farmers plan awareness campaign
“Starting tomorrow, we will start the fifteen-day Desh Jagran Abhiyan,” Yadav said.
Tractor rallies will be held across the country to raise awareness of farmers’ demands, he said, adding: “On January 9, we will remember Sir Chhotu Ram on his death anniversary as he was behind the APMC mandi that we are trying to save. . “
In Haryana, farmers’ unions will launch an awareness campaign starting on January 10, in which they will go to villages and call on residents to participate in the tractor parade on January 26.
“We will call on all families to send one or more tractors and a woman for the January 26 demonstration,” said Joginder Ghasidar, a member of the Bharatiya Kisan Union from Haryana.
“The government must accept the repeal of the three agricultural laws and the Electricity Law. We will accept nothing less than that, ”said Raja Ram, Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Mahasabha’s Secretary General. “Despite the fact that the country faces rampant hunger and food insecurity and there have been more than 4 lakh of farmer suicides, the government says the MSP is above market price and surplus grain is a problem. This government doesn’t care about the BPL families, ”he said.
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various borders in Delhi for more than a month against the three laws.
Protests at toll plazas continue amid the rain
Undeterred by the severe cold and rain, protesting farmers continued to sit at toll plazas Tuesday to speak out against controversial farm laws. Senior agricultural leaders, including Koth and Gurnam Singh Chaduni, have planned to visit the toll plazas starting Wednesday to energize the farmers who sit in dharnas there. Meanwhile, a senior police officer said that the Haryana Police are on the lookout for events related to the farmers’ unrest.
Farmers in Haryana are now preparing for the long term as well. According to plans, farmers will continue to move to the borders of Delhi by tractor-carts, in addition to planning a large movement of farmers to the national capital every few days. As part of one of those plans, farmers will move to Delhi’s borders from Sirsa on January 15, said Fatehabad farmer leader Mandeep Nathwan. In a similar move, thousands of farmers had moved to Delhi’s borders from Punjab a few days ago.
Head of BKU visits Jammu
To further expand the unrest, Haryana Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) President Gurnam Singh Chaduni went to Jammu to meet with local agricultural leaders on Tuesday. Previously, Chaduni had gone to Patna to hold discussions with Bihar’s farmer leaders.
After meeting with Chaduni, JK Zamindar Forum Chairman Abdul Hameed Malik told The Indian Express that the BKU leader’s visit to his region was intended to send a message that “Kashmiri farmers to Kanyakumari are in against agricultural laws “.
“A group of farmers from Jammu and Kashmir will move to the borders of Delhi on Wednesday to join the agitators there. We will give a memorandum to the Jammu authorities on January 23 as part of a call given by the farmer teams, ”Malik said.
“This is not the turmoil in one particular area, but farmers across the country have joined in this fight. Farmers can be of any caste, creed or religion, but they are united in this battle. The implementation of these laws will not only affect farmers, but also the common man. The companies can sell the pulses at the rate of 400 rupees per kg after buying them at the rate of 50 rupees from farmers, ”he added. Farmer leaders suspect that removing the upper limit on essential commodity stocks can lead to inflation and companies can hold large stocks for a long time to obtain higher prices for food grains purchased from farmers. However, the government has been insisting that agricultural laws have been introduced to benefit farmers.
(WITH ENS DELHI)
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