Jalandhar: Amidst slogans of ‘Modi sarkar murdabad’ and ‘Bharat sarkar murdabad’, farmers’ union representatives staged a walkout from their maiden meeting on the new farm laws with Union agriculture secretary Sanjay Agarwal in Delhi on Wednesday afternoon.
The farmers’ union representatives also tore copies of the three contentious farm laws and accused the Modi government of ‘double standards’. They questioned the absence of Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar from the meeting, which lasted around one hour and 15 minutes.
This was the first formal meeting of farmers’ unions with the Central government, headed by Agarwal in Delhi. Earlier, farmers’ unions had turned down the Centre’s invitation for talks on the agricultural laws, which was scheduled for October 8.
Those who attended the meeting included Dr Darshan Pal, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Satnam Singh Sahni, Jagmohan Singh, Surjit Singh Phool, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Sukhdev Singh Kokari Kalan and Jagjit Singh Dallewal.
Talking to The Wire, Darshan Pal, president of the Krantikari Kisan Union, said that all the 27 farmers’ union representatives ‘boycotted’ the meeting and staged a walkout in protest against the Central government’s moves. “Modi government’s double standards are clear. They invited us for a meeting in Delhi and sent its ministers and leaders to Punjab to convince people about the three farm laws. However, the people in Punjab are against these agri laws, they agitated too. We will intensify our stirs across Punjab, gherao the residences of BJP leaders and continue protests against the Ambani and Adani groups,” he said.
It was learnt that even during the meeting, farmers’ representatives kept questioning Agarwal about the absence of Union minister Tomar and demanded that the meeting be held only if Tomar or Prime Minister Narendra Modi give them time. The farmers’ union leaders said that Agarwal later assured them that he will convey their demands to the Centre.
Bhartiya Kisan Union (Dakaunda) state president Buta Singh Burjgill said that the Modi government was not sincere in its approach with farmers. “They not only forcibly passed the farm laws but also want to implement them at any cost. We wanted to talk to the Central government and not a government official. Such tactics lead to a trust deficit. Now, we have called a meeting of all farmers’ unions at Kisan Bhawan in Chandigarh on October 15 to announce our next move,” he said.
Also read: Punjab Farmers’ Protest: Corporate Houses Feel the Heat, Reliance Petrol Pump Sales Decline
State general secretary of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan), south Punjab’s leading farmers’ organisation, Sukhdev Singh Kokari Kalan said that they already knew the outcome of the meeting.
“The Union agriculture secretary failed to give any satisfactory reply to our queries, after which we staged a walkout from the meeting in protest. It is sheer politics that while Centre engaged us in a meeting, their Union agriculture minister or PM Modi did not even come to listen to our concerns. Rather, the Modi government has sent eight BJP leaders to Punjab, who were misleading people about the farm laws. We will not let this happen. Our indefinite protests, rail roko and gherao of Reliance petrol pumps, Adani ventures and toll plazas were already going on and now we will gherao BJP leaders 24×7 in Punjab,” he added.
Sukhdev Singh also said that they had made a separate charter of demands in which they spoke about the need to not just include the farmers of Punjab in the meeting, but those from the other states of the country too. “Apart from revoking the three draconian farm laws, we also demanded that the government scraps the Electricity (Amendment) 2020 Bill. We also demanded an MSP on all 22 crops listed by the Centre other than wheat, paddy, maize and cotton by the central procuring agencies and strongly advocated for the implementation of the Swaminathan report. Other than this, we emphasised on the need to keep corporate and private companies out of the farm sector,” he added.
BKU (Ugrahan) representatives also demanded the release of all intellectuals, students and activists who were booked under “fake cases” and put behind bars in the country.
The Modi government had passed three contentious farm laws – The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020, Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020.