Farmers across 20 districts in Punjab on Friday protested against the BJP-led Centre. These protests coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state.
Farmers owing allegiance to the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha gathered in 20 districts and burnt effigies of the BJP-led Central Government, accusing it of being anti-farmer. The decision to protest was taken at a KMM meeting in Ludhiana on Thursday. However, amid heightened security for the PM’s visit, the call was kept under wraps till morning.
The protests today have once again brought into focus the growing divide between the ruling party and farmers. Though the saffron party, having a largely urban presence, has been desperately trying to make inroads in the state’s rural hinterland, the farming community seems unwilling to forget the year-long farmers' struggle at the Delhi borders in 2020-21, against the three farm laws (later scrapped).
It was due to a farmers' protest in January 2022 that PM Modi could not reach Ferozepur to address a rally, just ahead of the Vidhan Sabha elections. Since then, there relations between the farmers and the BJP-led Centre haven't improved.
Even today, the PM made no announcement for the farmers, though he made a passing reference to the neighbouring Haryana Government giving MSP on 24 crops, while castigating the Punjab Government for failing to do anything for the farmers.
The protests held by KMM today across the state, except in Fatehgarh Sahib, Barnala and Mohali, are not a one-off incident. Other farmer unions are following suit, with fresh mobilisation underway. “The year-long protest in 2020-21 was against corporatisation of agriculture. But the BJP has not stopped pursuing this agenda. The proposed Indo-US trade pact, as per the claims of both countries, includes agriculture and dairying. If signed, it will mean that our poor farmers will be competing with American farmers, who are heavily subsidised. That is why, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) will be holding protests outside residences of BJP leaders on July 22,” Rajinder Singh Deepsinghwala, general secretary, Kirti Kisan Union, told The Tribune.
The farmers' opposition to the BJP is not restricted to their issues alone. With the movie “Satluj” bringing the days of terrorism in Punjab back in the limelight, KMM leader Sarwan Singh Pandher has demanded that a commission be set up to inquire into the incidents of killings of innocent Hindus and Sikhs during the 1980s and 1990s. “The BJP must address Punjabis' concerns about the release of “Bandi Singhs”; giving Punjab its rightful place of authority in the Bhakra Beas Management Board; and clarifying its position on the state’s riparian rights," he said.
Pandher said the railway projects inaugurated by Modi were another step towards privatisation of Railways, which the KMM opposed. “The inauguration of the Jalandhar railway station is part of this policy. Stations will be handed over to corporate houses. The majority of railway employees are our Hindu brothers, and they risk losing their jobs,” he said, reiterating the demand for a legal guarantee of MSP on all crops and a farm debt waiver.