New Delhi:
Thousands of farmers on Thursday participated in the 'Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat' at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi where a resolution was passed to intensify the protest against the Centre's policies on the agriculture sector and continue the agitation in the upcoming Lok Sabha -elections.
This was perhaps the largest gathering of farmers in the national capital after their agitation at Delhi's borders ended in 2021 following the Centre's repeal of the three contentious farm laws.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmers' organizations that spearheaded the 2021 protest, adopted the resolution to “intensify the fight against the Union government's policies to destroy agriculture, food security, land and to save the people's livelihoods”.
According to the resolution, the country has also vowed to continue its agitation in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections if its demands are not met.
Bharatiya Kisan union leader Rakesh Tikait told reporters, “We have held a meeting here and a message has gone out to the government that the farmers of our country are united. The government must talk to us to solve the problem. This unrest will not stop at any time. Soon it will spread from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.”
Tikait said the government wants to destroy the country by turning farmers into workers.
“They have already ended the 'mandi' system in Bihar and now they want to do it across the country. This way they want the farmers to become workers,” he said.
He also said that the government wants to break the unity of farmers by forming various farmers' unions.
“They want to divide us on the basis of caste, religion, regionalism and language,” he accused.
Krantikari Kisan Union leader Darshan Pal, who also participated in the mahapanchayat, said farmers' demands have been neglected for years.
“We have been waging agitation since 2021 and their charters have already been sent to the president and the prime minister, but nothing has happened so far,” he said.
“Today we discussed the same issues and re-informed the farmers who came here from different parts of the country about our demands. We have also passed a resolution to continue our agitation and focus on the policies of the BJP during the election period as well,” he said. added.
Mr Pal also expressed his displeasure over the limited gathering allowed by the Delhi Police at the Ramlila Maidan.
“We were not allowed to come to Delhi. The permission for the 'mahapanchayat' was given at the eleventh hour with several restrictions like only 5,000 farmers were allowed to come. The farmers were not allowed to go to gurdwaras and they were also stopped at railway stations,” he claimed.
The farmers also raised slogans against the Union government at the protest site. Several women farmers also joined the protest.
There were yellow, red, blue and white colored flags carried by different farmers, signifying their affiliation with different farmer unions.
Farmers from states like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal had come for the mahapanchayat.
Harman Singh, a farmer from Patiala in Punjab, said he arrived in the capital on Wednesday evening.
“We want the Centre's policies to be pro-farmer. We also want our demand for MSP (minimum support price) for crops to be met,” he said.
Ravinder Singh, a farmer from Bathinda in Punjab, said action should be taken against the suspects in the violence that broke out in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh in October 2021.
“We want action against the person who drove his car over farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri. The victim's family members should be given compensation and government jobs,” he said.
Layak Singh, carrying a small plow on his shoulder, said he had come to Delhi from Himachal Pradesh and was angry with the Centre's policies.
“My family is completely dependent on agriculture and if the situation of farmers remains the same, we will have to opt for other jobs,” Singh said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)