On August 6, I reached the Kisan Sansad (parallel parliament being run by protesting farmers) a little early. The green kisan buses were still coming into Jantar Mantar. I walked towards the canopied Sansad area, and was greeted by over 400 instead of 300 empty chairs, and a new poster declaring saying ‘Visitors Area’.
By this time, the kisan representatives started to take their chairs, and the session began. But I kept getting distracted by empty red cushioned iron chairs. What was to become of them?
Several leaders were visible at the scene – Balbir Singh Rajewal, Dr Darshan Pal, Yudhvir Singh and Yogendra Yadav. Among the many white kurta-pyjamas, there were white shirts and lungis too as the representatives were dressed for an occasion. Moving away from the media section, I sat next to a Punjabi farmer and asked him, “What is happening?” The reply was curt: “A new beginning.”
The speeches began, but my eyes wandered. There were farmers from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra, Bihar, Rajasthan and elsewhere. All sitting together as one nation. Soon it was Rajewal’s turn to speak. “I propose a no-confidence motion against the Modi government.” A shockwave ran through the house, followed by a roaring approval. About then, I noticed some empty seats were now occupied by ‘politician’ looking people with their safari suited security attaches. But more was to come.
Soon enough, a large crowd of people were approaching the Kisan Sansad. They were being led by Rahul Gandhi. It was soon clear that members of opposition, shedding political differences, had united for the farmers and symbolically supported the ‘no-confidence motion’.
The Kisan Sansad had suddenly become a ‘political sangam’ confluence, as throughout the day politicians, farmers’ leaders and political representatives came for a dip. The police got slightly rough too, trying to keep the media and politicians apart. But in the hustle-bustle, I caught up with Digvijay Singh to understand the issues. “The main issue is, are we going to sell our farmers and agriculture to corporates? We all are here to support the farmers against this corporate auction,” he said.
Farmers and others at the Kisan Sansad. Photo: Indra Shekhar Singh
It was almost lunch, and I found Dr Darshan Pal, president of the Krantikari Kisan Union, near the visitors’ area. “For 30 minutes, various MPs sat and listened to our Kisan Sansad. This step has increased our credibility and farmers across the nation are encouraged. This finally proves that our strategy is working and India is seeing the truth,” he said.
“History has a strange way of repeating herself; once Jan Sansads were organised under the apolitical banner of J.P. Narayan to awaken the politicians and oppose tyranny, today Rahul Gandhi steps into a people’s parliament opposing tyranny too,” said Surinder Singh, a farmer from Haryana.
After a round of kadhi-chawal, the no-confidence motion found many endorsers. Sudhir Singh, from Jharkhand, linked land grab and Modi government. “The farmers’ revolution spreads in Jharkhand. Since demonetisation, farmers have been alert. Already our fields and mountains are being pillaged by corporations like Adani. All this is facilitated by the Modi government. Every farmers knows, Modi is bad for India,” with these words, he supported the motion.
Next on the Sansad floor was P. Permal from Tamil Nadu, wearing a white shirt and ironed lungi. He spoke crisp Tamil, “The dismayed state of Tamil Nadu farmers is due to water issues and bad prices. Our farmers came to Delhi, but Modi didn’t even give them an ear, instead profited off their troubles. Today, Modi wants to destroy India’s agriculture, we wont allow it. I support the proposal.”
One after another, representatives stood up and gave their view. The crashing rural economy and demand for MSP has finally united India, it seemed. There were voices representing Modi’s constituency too. Shravan Kumar Kushwaha had come from Varanasi to narrate their pain. “Modi ji declares that we are prosperous farmers, because we grow the Japanese black rice and take praise from everyone. But on the ground, the situation is very different, small and marginal farmers in Varanasi are a dying breed. There are no markets and hardly any government procurement. Modi ji is again selling a jumla,” he said.
Yogendra Yadav at the Kisan Sansad. Photo: Indra Shekhar Singh
The day was coming to a close, but no-confidence motion was still at play. “It will be voted upon by our women delegates on Quit India Day and then shall be passed,” said Inderjit Singh, a speaker at the Kisan Sansad.
So which parliament is better, the farmers’ or politicians’? Yogendra Yadav had some answers. “With hundreds of crores spent, the Indian parliament is dysfunctional. Bills become laws in minutes without any discussion. But here at our Kisan Sansad, we have collectively given hundreds of hours to serious discussions on the farm bills. Hence, the MPs also came to support us. We will grow together and stronger in the days to come,” he said.
Indra Shekhar Singh is an independent policy analyst and writer and also the former director of the National Seed Association of India.