CHANDIGARH: Farmer leaders on Monday claimed that support for them was swelling as they went on a day-long fast against three farm laws and observed silence over the death of over 20 of their comrades since the agitation began 18 days ago.
However, farmers owing allegiance to the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) distanced themselves from the hunger strike call given by 32 farmer unions from Punjab.
Many farmers held protests outside the offices of district commissioners in both Punjab and Haryana. All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) said the agitation was transforming into a “national patriotic movement” to save farmers from exploitation from corporate bodies and a “government which is hell-bent on attacking their sources of livelihood.
“It is a shame that the Central Government is still trying to run away from addressing the issues and is repeating its fraudulent arguments,’’ AIKSCC stated.
It said district-level protests were held in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.
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The farmer leaders said thousands of farmers are moving towards Delhi from other states and that the number of protesting farmers at Delhi borders was swelling. Since Sunday, the Jaipur-Delhi national highway has been blocked by protesting farmers from Rajasthan and Haryana, near Shahjahanpur, at the border between the two states. A large solidarity event was organised in Shaheed Park in Delhi by various “progressive organisations”.
Meanwhile, singer duo Nooran sisters visited the Singhu border to show solidarity with the farmers and also sang a song for the farmers.
“Whatever we all are today, it’s all because of the farmers,’’ they said.
The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) president, Joginder Singh Ugrahan said the farmers’ peaceful struggle would force the Modi government to withdraw the “black laws”.
Many ex-servicemen, youth, artists, writers and many personalities associated with the film industry joined hands with Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) in their demand to repeal the agricultural laws along with other demands at Tikri border in Delhi.Playwright Sahib Singh staged a play ‘Rangkarmi
Da Bacha’. Capt. Gurjinder Singh Sidhu, president of Sainik Wing Punjab, Kulwinder Singh Rori of Naujawan Bharat Sabha-Lalkar said the protest had now turned into a struggle of all people, which cannot be buried under false propaganda.
Protests were also held in several districts including Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangrur, Barnala, Bathinda, Moga, Faridkot, Ferozepur and Tarn Taran in Punjab and at Fatehabad, Jind, Sirsa, Kurukshetra, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Bhiwani, Kaithal and Ambala in Haryana.
Hazare puts Centre on ‘fast’ notice
Social activist Anna Hazare wrote to the agriculture minister warning “resumption of a hunger strike” against the Centre’s “failure” to fulfill his demands including the implementation of the recommendations made by the M S Swaminathan Commission.
Hazare enclosed the letter of Radha Mohan Singh assuring that the high-powered panel will prepare its report and submit it by October 30, 2019.
‘Resolve stir through dialogue’
Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma urged the government to involve CMs to resolve the agitation. He called upon the government to be more generous in giving out money to all sections affected by the pandemic, especially the poor.
"Today what we are seeing is turbulence and protests on the farm laws. Reforms must be participatory, not arbitrary. There must be consultations," he said.
PM Modi to meet farmers in Kutch
Amid the ongoing protest by farmers on Delhi borders, PM Narendra Modi will meet members of the farming community, including Sikh cultivators in Gujarat, during a visit to Kutch district on Tuesday.
Modi will be at Dhordo in Kutch to lay the foundation stones for several projects coming up in different parts of the border district, an official statement said on Monday.