Farmers’ union to gather funds for agitation

New Delhi: Having tasted success with the Maharashtra farmers long march, the All-India Kisan Mahasabha (AIKS) has now decided to organise a “house-to-house” collection of funds from peasant families to help set up a fund to further their struggle. In a first, AIKS, the farmers’ wing of the CPI(M), will go house-to-house and in local markets across the country with a bucket on July 22-23 and ask peasants to contribute a minimum of Rs 10 each for the corpus which will be ut-ilised to organise mass struggles in the run up to 2019 general polls.

“The target is to collect Rs 5 crore,” joint secretary AIKS Vijoo Krishnan told this newspaper.

The AIKS is also spearheading a massive “Jail Bharo” on August 9 — The Quit India Day — which has been supported by the trade unions and various dalit organisations. In September, another protest like the Maharashtra Long March will be organised.

After the September 5 protest, AIKS leaders are expected to sit with other outfits to formally evolve a joint group involving various mass organisations, which is opposed to the policies adopted by the NDA regime, to chalk out future course of action.

Mr Krishnan said if the Centre is not willing to change the “reckless anti-peasant policies th-at aggravate the agrarian crisis, there is no oth-er option but to unleash relentless struggles”.