Protesting farmers unite Opposition

New Delhi: Thousands of farmers marched through the streets of the capital, chanting slogans, flashing flags and some carrying skulls of loved ones who committed suicide, to demand loan waiver and remunerative prices for their produce and were joined by social activists and leaders of non-BJP parties in a show of strength near Parliament here.

The march, which caused snarls in Central Delhi, brought together Opposition parties of all hues showcasing how agrarian distress and farm loan waiver would be a major poll plank in the 2019 general elections.

The tone for a united Opposition over farmers’ issues was set by Congress president Rahul Gandhi by showing solidarity with the protesters and saying, “Farmers are not seeking free gifts but only their rights,”

Mr Gandhi shared the stage and shook hands with his bete noire, AAP chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, burying deep political differences between the two leaders. Other seniors leaders, including NCP chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, were also present and addressed at the farmers from over 207 organisations across the country.

Mr Yechury called the Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “pocketmaar” (pick-pocket) to rhyme with the latter’s self-proclaimed status of public’s “chowkidar” (watchman). He said that Mr Modi is a “pocketmaar who takes all your money and gives back a little as a sop”.

The Opposition show of strength over farmers’ issue saw a quick reaction from the government with agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh sending out a series of 22 tweets explaining his government’s stance in the matter. Mr Singh asked whether the Congress has woken up to farmers’ issues “today”.

The agitating farmers are demanding passage of two private members’ bills — The Farmers’ Fre-edom from Indebtedness Bill, 2018, and The Farm-ers’ Right to Guaranteed Remunerative Minimum Support Prices For Agri-cultural Commodities Bill in the coming session of Parliament and implementation of the Swami-nathan Committee report among other things to address agrarian distress.

Addressing farmers at Jantar Mantar where they had assembled after they were stopped on their march to Parliament, almost all leaders, including Mr Gandhi, Mr Kejriwal and Mr Pawar, called for a complete waiver of farm loans, failing which the people would remove the BJP government in the next elections.

The Congress president hit out at the Prime Minister for favouring 15 of his favourite industrialists by waiving off their loans worth Rs 3.5 lakh crore while not doing the same for farmers who are in deep distress.

“Today there are two major issues in front of India. One is the issue of the farmers and the other is the issue of jobs for youth. The fight is for the future of youth and farmers. In the last four-and-a-half years Modi and BJP have waived off '3.5 lakh crore loans of 15 favourite businessmen. If '3.5 lakh crore can be waived off for 15 people then farmers’ loans should also be waived off,” he said.

“The farmers of the country are not asking for any free gift, but just their rights. Your (farmers) loans are not waived off…you are not given remunerative prices and given fake promises. We (Opposition parties) might have differing ideologies but for the future of the farmers and youths we stand together on this dais,” Mr Gandhi said.

“Till they address the concerns of the youth and farmers then they cannot survive. If anybody insults farmers and youth then the youth will remove them,” he said.

In the same vein, Mr Kejriwal accused the Prime Minister of “stabbing” farmers in the back by not fulfulling the promises made to them.

Mr Kejriwal claimed that the Centre had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying it would not implement the M.S. Swaminathan Commission report that deals with farmers’ welfare.  

“The government had also made a lot of promises to farmers in last elections (2014), but it has not fulfilled them. And, by not implementing the Swaminathan Commission report, Modi ji has stabbed the farmers in their back,” he said.

The Delhi chief minister said that the Centre should implement the report within five months, otherwise, the farmers will show their might in the 2019 elections.

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said that the earlier UPA government and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were much more sensitive to farmers problems than the current Modi-led BJP government.

Pointing towards Parliament Street police station, Mr Yechury said, “It is this very police station where Bhagat Singh was detained. He used bomb to force a deaf British government to hear. If this govt does not hear then there will be a bigger explosion. And we no longer need bomb, we have vote.”

At the protest venue, Kartar Singh, a sugarcane farmer from Uttar Pradesh, said,  “My wife and children have told me that I should fight and stay even for a week in Delhi, if needed.”

He was among the thousands of farmers who braved the chill on Thursdy night at Ramlila Ground, while preparing for Friday’s march.

The march was organised under the banner of the All-India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), a platform of 200 farmers’ groups. Farmers from different parts of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh took part in the rally.

The march on Friday is the second major farmer’s protest in the national capital in two months. At least 20 people, including police personnel, were injured in a clash between protesters and security personnel on October 2 at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border on National Highway-24 when Delhi Police denied entry to thousands of farmers into the city.

The Delhi march on Saturday comes just a week after farmers from all across Maharashtra marched to Mumbai to reiterate their demands for loan waiver and land rights among others, eight months after they were promised reforms by the BJP government.