Bathinda: Farmer organisation BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) is taking up the issues of small businesses and traders, cautioning them about the probable losses they may incur owing to the rise of multinational companies (MNCs) operating from developed countries and within India.
The farmer organisation has prepared a four-page leaflet in Gurmukhi detailing how “big corporations are eating up the businesses of small entities”, planning to distribute them among voters in Barnala and Gidderbaha assembly constituencies, mainly in the two towns wherein the organisation has slammed BJP for promoting corporates and AAP govt for pursuing the policies without raising objections.
The farmer outfit claimed that nearly 10 crore people into small businesses and those associated with them were threatened with the rise of big corporations.
The organisation has decided to visit every nook and corner of both Gidderbaha and Barnala on Saturday, the 109th martyrdom day of freedom fighter Kartar Singh Sarabha, by forming different teams. The farm group would make appeals to people to question BJP and AAP leaders about shrinking business space when they come for campaigning.
“We want to caution the small businessmen that it is not only the agriculture sector but they are also threatened with the advent of big corporations, as policies are being framed to benefit them. Small shopkeepers are already feeling the heat with shopping mall culture having reached small towns. It is time they join hands with farming community to support them before it is too late as policies started by Narsimha Rao-Manmohan Singh in 1991 are more vigorously being pursued by the Narendra Modi government. Union minister Piyush Goyal had stated that business of e-commerce companies, which was 4% in 2019, had reached 8% in 2022 and will further rise in coming years”, said BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan.
Mann, Kejri rallies today
While farmer organisations would hold marches in Barnala and Gidderbaha, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann would address rallies at both the places on Saturday. Democratic Teachers Front too has decided to hold flag march in Gidderbaha on Saturday.