Updated: December 14, 2020 1:00:13 pm
With the trade union ministers attributing ideological opposition to the agricultural protests and equating some of them with “Left and naxal elements, ”Up to 32 farmers unions passed a resolution on Saturday making it clear that their only problem is the repeal of farm laws and nothing more.
Carefully calibrating their distancing from the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), the joint resolution stated: “The function organized by BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) has nothing to do with the farmers’ struggle. His action has damaged the farmers’ struggle ”. BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) and the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) are not part of this group of 32.
The BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) had on December 10 – to commemorate Human Rights Day – wavy activist posters including Sudha Bharadwaj, Vernon Gonsalves and Varavara Rao, demanding their release from prison.
Joginder Singh Ugrahan at Tikri Border.
This led several Union ministers, including Piyush Goyal, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Narendra Singh Tomar, in the past two days to claim that “left wing and Maoist elements” have infiltrated protests seeking to derail the “reformist farm laws.” ” of the government.
Buta Singh Burjgill, President of BKU (Dakaunda), who chaired the meeting of the 32 farmers’ organizations on December 11, said: “Human rights are also a big problem for us, but here this joint fight is only against the laws. formed by the central government, that is, the three agricultural laws, the Ordinance related to the environment and the proposed Electricity Bill, 2020 ”.
Read also: Ugrahan wears his politics on his sleeve: ‘Pak called us, now Naxals’
The Indian Express spoke to leaders of at least two dozen farmers’ organizations over the weekend and the consensus was clear: their demand that all three farm laws be repealed and that the government start “with a clean slate.” When asked about the government’s proposed amendments, they said they could be reversed later. At the center of their protest is the demand to legalize the Minimum Price of Livelihood in agricultural laws, a provision that no government has followed and that, according to the government, has several distorting effects.
When contacted, Ruldu Singh Mansa, President of Punjab Kisan Union, who is part of the joint forum, said: “I believe that the ongoing agricultural struggle has become a movement, and our focus should be only on agricultural laws, electricity law and the environment. If a farmers union has organized a program, it is their individual and personal decision. “However, he said that if the government tried to attack the Ugrahan group, the Punjab Kisan Union will support them.
Kanwalpreet Singh Pannu, Chairman of the Kisan Sangharsh Committee, Punjab said: “Our 32 farmers organizations have nothing to do with it. But I think the ongoing fight should only be about farm laws. “
Claiming that the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) organized function led by Joginder Singh Ugrahan had hurt the farmers’ cause, Harmeet Singh, President of BKU (Qadian), said: “Our union has only one problem, and that is the agricultural laws. Our 32 agricultural unions have clarified that their fight is only for agricultural laws and nothing else. “
Rajinder Singh, Secretary General of the Krantikari Kisan Union, also supported the resolution passed by the joint forum. “This turmoil is just because of the farm laws, the electricity bill and the Environmental Ordinance,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan, Secretary General of BKU (Ugrahan) said: “We do not want to comment on any statement given by any of the agricultural organizations. We organize Human Rights Day every year and this year was no different. Our main topic is also agricultural laws and we had connected the issue of human rights with agricultural laws, since everyone has the democratic right to protest and express their point of view ”.
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