Kisan Sabha ups ante, vows to hold massive protests in June

Pune: The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has announced it will take the government head-on if it fails to deliver on its promises made after the historic farmers’ long march taken out in March. 
The AIKS has planned a massive Statewide protest on June 1, said AIKS leaders while addressing the media at a conference on Tuesday. 

Ajit Nawale, State Secretary of the AIKS, said the AIKS will not let the State government fool farmers again. “The government has tried to mislead the angry farmers through its loan waiver announcement and thereafter multiple times. We will not let them do that again,” Nawale said, adding, “The State promised that it would waive off loans and implement the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report, including giving the minimum support price in one-and-a-half months.”

“It has been one month since the government announced it accepted the farmers’ demands but there has been no action yet. In lieu of this, a State Council meeting of the Kisan Sabha was organised on Monday. It was decided there would be a fresh struggle to curb attempts of the government to backtrack on its promises,” Nawale said.

On June 1, as the unprecedented farmers’ strike that happened last year completes a year, the Kisan Sabha has planned massive Statewide protests. “We will again see the farmers coming together under the banner of the Kisan Sabha and gherao government offices in lakhs,” said Nawale, adding, “We will also collect 20 lakh signatures of farmers to pressurise the government on delivering its promises.”

Talking about the role of State Minister for Water Resources and Medical Education Girish Mahajan, Nawale said, “The government ignored the march as long as it was in rural areas. As soon as it started approaching the city, Mahajan was sent like a fire extinguisher to calm the angry farmer.” 

He said, ”But this time if the government tries to fool the farmers, no extinguisher will work.”