Farmers during their sit-in protest against the Centre's farm reform laws, near Ghazipur border in New Delhi on Saturday. PTI

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 12

The BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) on Saturday slammed the BJP-led Centre for portraying its demand for the release of intellectuals as “Naxal infiltration/Khalistani struggle” in the movement and declared to intensify struggle.

Calling upon "people to repel the provocative and divisive tactics used by the BJP government and intensify the struggle", BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh said preparations were on in full swing for massive protests at district level across Punjab on December 14 in which lakhs of people would participate.

Addressing kisan morcha at Tikri border here, Joginder Singh called it an important stage of the struggle.

He said family members of farmers who had committed suicide across Punjab will take special part in the agitation at Tikri border on December 16 and "show the world the pain of Punjab's agricultural crisis".

"The brutal realities of the families of the farmers who have lost their lives due to debt will be exposed to the world. This will show how these new agricultural laws will increase only the yield of debt crops and sow the seeds of suicide," he said.

"On one hand, the Modi government is proposing minor amendments in the laws and on the other hand it is spreading inflammatory propaganda about the farmers’ struggle.

"The demand for the release of intellectuals is being termed as Naxal infiltration, sometimes it is portrayed as a Khalistani struggle and the action to block the Jaipur Highway is being used to create an illusion of violence," he added.

Ugrahan said the "tried and tested weapon of misleading propaganda by the BJP will be thwarted by the struggling farmers with the cooperation of all working classes”.

“This provocative propaganda is aimed at putting pressure on the struggling masses to accept the proposed amendments," the farmers’ body said in a statement.

It further said: "The impasse in the proposed amendments was evident from today's statement of the BJP in which the party had announced a campaign to enumerate the benefits of the law in 700 districts across the country."

A convoy of hundreds of activists led by the rationalist society from within Punjab also joined the protest on Saturday.