Amritsar: Apprehending lack of awareness and confusions among farmers as well as common people about the implications of the three farm laws, the farmer leaders of Uttar Pradesh (UP) accompanied by agriculture experts will take out a 22-day-long tractor rally while stopping at every district and explaining how these agri laws could allegedly play havoc to the farmers’ lives.
“We realized that still there is lack of awareness among farmers as well as common citizens about the three farm laws and we want to make it clear that these laws are not at all in favour of farmers as being propagated by the Central government. So, we have roped in agriculture experts and decided to take out a Kisan Mazdur Jagriti March visiting every district and clearing the myths about the laws,” president of Sikh Sangathan, Uttarakhand and UP, Jasvir Singh Virk said while talking to TOI from Ramraj village in Muzaffarnagar district of UP on Friday.
The proposed march will leave from Ramraj on Saturday and arrive at Delhi on March 27 after traversing around 1,750 kms covering as many as 9 districts in a span of 22 days.
“We and our subject experts will explain each and every controversial clause of the three farm laws in the simplest language to the people and farmers and by the time we finish our march, I believe our strength will multiply several times,” he claimed.
The president of Sikh Sangathan which is part of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha observed that the farmers of other states including UP, Telengana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra had outnumbered the farmers from Punjab and Haryana.
As the agitation was progressing, more and more farmers from rest of India were gathering at the multiple borders of Delhi, he said, adding that a large jatha of farmers from Telangana had arrived to participate in the agitation.
“Farmers have some confusion about MSP, what the government is saying and what we are saying. Similarly, we have to dispel other myths which necessitated us to take out the march,” Virk said.
Meanwhile, a tractor-trolley jatha led by Kisan Mazdur Sangarsh Committee left for Delhi from Amritsar.
The jatha would participate in the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha’s scheduled programme of blocking Kundli-Manesar-Palwar (KMP) Expressway on March 6.
Farmer leader Gurbachan Singh Chabha said, “First we will block the KMP Expressway on Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm and then they would go to Singhu border where other farmers are camping.”
Chabha said this would be the 8th tractor trolley’s jatha that would leave for Delhi from Golden Gate and Beas Bridge and the 9th jatha of tractor trolleys would leave from Tarn Taran in the near future.
Govt’s prestige an obstacle in repealing laws: KSMC
Yudhvir.Rana@timesgroup.com
Kathunangal (Amritsar): Vouching to further spread the farmers’ agitation in rest of India till it reaches a logical conclusion, the farmer leaders claimed that despite agreeing to make ‘desirable’ changes in the three agri laws, the government didn’t want to repeal them only to protect its ‘make believe’ honour.
“Aap jo chahay karw lay hamari izzat ka sawal hai par ham isko wapis nahi lay saktay (You can get anything done, but we can’t repeal it since it is a matter of our honour),” alleged state general secretary of Kisan Mazdur Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) Sarwan Singh Pandher while quoting a conversation held between farmers’ delegation and Union home minister Amit Shah.
Talking to TOI here on Friday, he claimed that the government was in a catch 22 situation and was not finding an appropriate and modest pretext to retreat what it had earlier done. “But now they (government leaders) are on the back foot and are trying to quell the agitation by unleashing a spate of oppression tactics including implicating our sympathizers in police cases on flimsy charges,” he alleged.
He said the Centre was in delusion that the farmers would disperse themselves when it would be time for vegetable sowing or wheat harvesting season.
“No, it is not going to happen, we have made up our mind to continue our agitation till next Lok Sabha elections and now the agitation has spread from Punjab, Haryana and UP to several other states of India including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh,” he said.