Will
Delhi face Farmers’ Gherao again?
Wednesday 31 January 2024
Tuesday 30 January 2024
Will Delhi face Farmers’ Gherao again? JAG MOHAN THAKEN -
Will
Delhi face Farmers’ Gherao again?
Riding on
the tractors and echoing slogans with firm voice on the roads of nearly all
district headquarters of the country, the farmers are again on stir path to
pressurize the BJP government for getting their demands fulfilled in consonance
with the directions of their top body- Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM).
SKM
claimed at the end of Republic Day that Parades were held in 484 districts of
27 states and Union Territories despite inclement weather, especially in North
India, tens of thousands of tractors and other vehicles joined millions of
farmers in the Parades.
These
Parades were part of the second phase of the farmers’ struggle in order to
press the Union Government to implement its written assurances dated 9th
December 2021 and other essential demands of farmers, including legalizing
MSP@C2+50% with guaranteed procurement for all crops, comprehensive loan waiver
for farmers and farm workers, stopping of the privatization of the electricity
sector and installation of pre-paid meters, reducing cost of inputs, ensuring
government controlled simple and universal crop insurance, dismissal and
prosecution of the alleged main conspirator of the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre of
farmers, Union Minster of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni, and other
demands.
The first
phase of an historic successful stir of the farmers, wherein more than 700
farmers were stated to lose their life, run more than 13 months in 2020-2021,
with a massive gherao of Delhi, which forced the central government to bow down
and repeal the three agricultural laws.
Even the
Prime Minister, Narender Modi had to apologize, "While apologizing to the
nation, I want to say with a sincere and pure heart that may be something was
lacking... that we could not explain the truth to some of our farmer
brothers... we have decided to repeal the three farm laws.”
What The
Next?
The
political analysts say that the U-turn, in 2021 by the PM Modi led government,
was taken seeing the coming elections in several states, including the
agricultural belt of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Now as the clouds of Lok Sabha
general elections are hovering over, smelling the essence, the farmers seem to
follow the strategy – ‘Hitting the hot molds the pot.’
Are the
farmers preparing the ground for the second gherao of central capital?
If we
analyze the activities of the farmers’ unions, the SKM’s step-by-step actions
indicate so. SKM has already given a
call for Grameen Bharat Bandh on 16th February 2024, on which day trade unions
have also given a call for Industrial/Sectoral Strike and SKM expects that
rural India will come to a stand-still on that day. The SKM divulges that the
struggle will be extended in the days to come to all the states and districts
up to villages and will be further intensified till all the demands are met by
the Modi Government.
Participants
of the Parades took a Pledge to intensify the struggle against the
pro-corporate, anti-farmer policies of the Modi Government and strengthen the
secular and democratic character of the Republic of India, at any cost.
To
connect farmers, youth, and workers with its agitational programs, SKM lays
emphasis in its every meeting on the issues related to these categories and
flashes that corporatization of agriculture leading to the agrarian crisis has
devastated the lives of farmers, workers, and the youth as well. SKM claims,
“1,00,474 Indian farmers have committed suicide during the Modi years of
2014-2022. Though 14.64 lakh crore of debt of corporates were written off in
the last nine years, not a single rupee of farmers debt has been waived. The
withdrawal of subsidies for inputs and the uncontrolled price rise has
escalated the cost of production in agriculture and day-to-day expenditure of
the farmer households.”
SKM
reiterates that Narendra Modi is the most anti-farmer Prime Minister, India has
ever had, who has betrayed the farmers and youth by violating the election
promise of ensuring real MSP, loan waiver and 2 crore jobs every year.
Haryana
based SKM leader Inderjit Singh claimed that the unprecedented success of the
tractor parades across the state is indicative of the deepening agrarian crisis
because of the pro corporate policies of state and central governments. He said
that a nationwide strike will be observed on February 16 by trade unions
supported by Gramin Bharat Bandh to press for the basic issues farmers and
workers.
However,
Com. Inderjeet Singh, interacting with the author of this analysis, says that
after Grameen Bharat Bandh of 16th February, no further program has been
chalked out yet, but the release statement of SKM on 26th January clears the
mist- ‘the struggle will be extended in the days to come to all the states and
districts up to villages and will be further intensified till all the demands
are met by the Modi Government’.
Addressing
a Kisan Maha panchayat on 18th January, the four-day national convention of the
Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), held in Prayag Raj district of Uttar Pradesh, the
National Spokesperson Chaudhary Rakesh Tikait indicated the next step, “We will
hold tractor parade across the country on 26th January, Bharat Bandh on 16
February and Kisan Maha panchayat in Delhi on 14 March.”
This
statement of Tikait forecasts BKU’s intention to march to Delhi. Will they
organize a Maha panchayat only for one day? This seems somewhat suspicious, it
may so happen that on the pretext of one day, farmers are going to Delhi again
to fight a long battle.
Will the
farmers succeed to get the Government bow down again?
Political
parties generally want to divide the farmers and ignite their rows at the time
of elections to easy up their vote fetching. But the BJP is not depending upon
this village disputes angle only, it is trying its all weapons of Sam, Daam,
Dand, Bhed (persuade, purchase, punish, and exploit the weakness.)
The Prime Minister is holding Video
Conferencing with the farmers. To woo the Punjab farmers, P M Modi interacted with farmers of Gurdaspur
on January 8, under Vikashit Bharat Sankalp Yatra program through VC and
discussed about the benefits to the farmers through agricultural and other
central schemes.
The
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar had also a get- together with the farmers of
Haryana during his visits to the state and hosted their stay in Delhi. He tried
to talk with them in Haryanvi dialect to show his proximity to the farmer
community. Also, in an issue of mimicry by a member of Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar
claimed himself a farmer and tried to divert the mimicry joke as an insult to
the farmers and his caste community.
Despite
the 2021 massive stir of the farmers, defying all pollsters and predictions,
the BJP won an absolute majority in the forthcoming elections in U P,
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh during 2022 and 2023.
Here
arises the question – if the farmers were so angry with the BJP, then how BJP
got the thundering win?
Some
political analysts conclude that the farmers remain farmers only till the
agitation is going on, as soon as the stir calm down, they also forget that
they are farmers, and they switch over to the factions as per their village
feuds and they vote accordingly.
In just
held Rajasthan assembly elections in November, 2023, the inference drawn by the
analysts gets confirmed, wherein none of the farmer leaders, who had been
arduously fighting for the rights and issues of the farmers, could win the
elections. Here the farmers’ unions will have to think over the issue – ‘Why the support bank of farmers does not
convert into the vote bank’? Why they turn into the revengeful groups while
voting? Why they forget that they are farmers first?
But this
time, despite all odds, the farmers’ unions have also tightened their belt to
win this final round of wrestling and
they have declared, “The Grameen
Bandh will be extended to all the villages across the country. Even then, if
the Narendra Modi Government does not meet the demands of farmers, the struggle
will be intensified further.”
However,
to get to bow down the firm, strong and adamant BJP government does not seem to
be an easy task, but the farmers’ unions are also desirous of paying in the
same hard coin. The next three months will show – “Who will back out or who
will bow down”.
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