Day 179

Toll 478+

#FarmersProtest

Solidarities

On May 21, the protesting farmers at Mayyad Toll plaza, outside Hisar in Haryana, had given a call to oppose the Khattar government’s FIR by deceit against farmers by gathering at the Kranti Park, Hisar today. Beating expectation of a few thousand farmers gathering, on ground more than a lakh farmers have gathered, more are arriving.

The administration has called for talks in which 11 members of the Mayyad Toll Plaza Committee plus members of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha core committee are participating. The reason to include local people in the talks underlines the fact that localites are best equipped to argue their case and should not be overshadowed by senior leaders.

Earlier in the day, a few farmers were injured when police used lathis to repel them as they approached the barricades outside Hisar airport. They had information that the Deputy CM Haryana, Dushyant Chautala from Jannayak Janata Party – who had earlier sold the farmer votes to his party to the BJP and helped it form government – was at the airport. A cat and mouse game of ambulances took place and he perhaps escaped or maybe he was not there in the first place. The tense situation was finally diffused. A farmer, Ram Charan Kharab had a heart attack and has sadly died at today’s protest.

Yesterday, in spite of the storm and rains last few days, thousands of farmers reached Singhu to mark 6 months of the protests. Post harvest, the farmers from Panjab have made huge donations to various farmer unions. While India grapples with the virus, rest of Indian farmers are too shaken by the pandemic reaching villages, the north Indian farmers are self-funding their protests in a big way.

Now as protests are completing 6 months, 12 political parties have given the call to support May 26 as Black Day. So nice of them! Just hope if and when they come to power they do not again turn anti-farmer. Farmers have memories of a elephant. They know the past half century and how political parties have betrayed them.

The Opposition parties must tell Captain Amarinder Singh, CM of Panjab, to explain with complete transparency to BKU Ekta Ugrahan what his government has done to contain the pandemic in the state and not label their intent to question him on lapses in COVID-19 management as potential super-spreaders.

The farmers are showing us, unless we hold governments – states or Centre – accountable on their lack of performance, more and more of us do it, farmers and labour from rest of country, urban middle-class everywhere, unless we unite in solidarity, there will be no respite from mal-governance, foul laws, and the pandemic.

Update: Farmers win against Haryana police – FIRs to be quashed. One month time sought because as per law High Court will quash them.