NEW DELHI: To intensify the farmers‘movement against agricultural laws, the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) decided on Wednesday to make all toll plazas in Rajasthan “free” from 12 February and to carry out a rail blockade program across the country from 12:00 to 16:00 on February 18.
The SKM also decided to hold a ‘candle march’ and ‘mashaal juloos’ throughout the country in memory of the sacrifice of the martyred soldiers in the Pulwama attack on February 14. The decision appears to be an effort to correct the image after the “anti-national” act of raising a religious flag at the Red Fort on January 26 generated widespread condemnation. “On February 16, farmers will show solidarity across the country on the anniversary of Sir Chhotu Ram’s birth,” SKM said in a statement. Chhotu Ram was one of the prominent leaders of the pre-partition. Punjab Province.
The decisions were made at a meeting of the Morcha committee as part of their plan to make the unrest a pan-Indian movement in the coming days. The mobilization will be a test for the unions as they have been successful so far in Punjab, Haryana and parts of West UP.
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