Hundreds of farmers associated with Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) marched towards Delhi in the scorching heat and humidity on Friday, demanding withdrawal of the controversial farm bills
Around 200 km away from the main epicentre of farmers’ protest against the farm bills near Ambala in Haryana, where lakhs of farmers have taken over the railway tracks and roads, a smaller but equally determined number of farmers gathered near the eastern border of the capital city Delhi on Friday.
Hundreds of farmers associated with the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) marched towards Delhi in the scorching heat and humidity, demanding withdrawal of the controversial farm bills passed by the Parliament which now await the assent of the President of India.
Supported by Opposition parties and over 30 farmers’ organisations, they were, however, stopped by the police at the Noida-Mayur Vihar border.
Apprehending trouble for the government, the Delhi police had already sealed the road leading to the capital, thus making any entry impossible, but the farmers succeeded in drawing media attention towards their cause as Film City, Noida, where offices of most of the news channels are located, is not far from the protest site.
Sweating under the sun, the protesters not only demanded withdrawal of the bills but also making the MSP regime compulsory under the law. Their anger spiked when they were asked to comment about Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has blamed Opposition parties for ‘misleading’ the farmers over the bills.
Some of the farmers who voted for the BJP in 2014 and again in 2019 said that the Modi government had cheated them. They said if farmers had voted it to power, they can also vote it out of power.
“Until they (BJP) were not elected, they talked about farmers but once they came to power, they forgot about us. The same Modi for whom the farmers had voted is standing against us,” said a farmer while addressing fellow protesters.
Though some farmers with better awareness talked about the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s report, as of now their priority is to force the government to take back the farm bills. “If the government takes back the bills, we will call off our protest,” said another protester.
Although as per the plan announced by the farm organisations, the protest and dharna shall be called off after 5 pm today, in Punjab and in many parts of Haryana, ‘rail roko protests’ will be carry on for the next two days.
“Even in the time of COVID- 19 pandemic, farmers provided food to all. When migrant workers were fleeing the city, it was farmers who provided them with food. Today, the Modi government is trying to snatch our own food. If we can vote them to power, we can throw them out of power. The Modi government should keep that in mind,” said a BKU activist.
Though many of the protesting farmers apparently did not know the finer details of the farm bills, the MSP issue has struck a chord.
Another farmer activist and a member of the BKU said that ‘the ego of the Modi government would be demolished’. Referring to the mythological king Ravana, the BKU leader said, “The ego of Ravana who was the most powerful king on the earth and heaven in the time of Ram was demolished. The ego of Duryodhan who had 100 brothers was demolished by the Pandavas. Similarly, the ego of the Modi government will be demolished by the farmers.”
Though some farmers with better awareness talked about the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s report, as of now their priority is to force the government to take back the farm bills. “If the government takes back the bills, we will call off our protest,” said another protester.
Although as per the plan announced by the farm organisations, the protest and dharna shall be called off after 5 pm today, in Punjab and in many parts of Haryana, ‘rail roko protests’ will be carry on for the next two days.
Courtesy: NH
