Ahead of the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram, farmer leaders and social activists have appealed that farmers should not vote for the BJP if their demands are not fulfilled. They said, “Note bandi ka jawab, kisan vote bandi se denge (farmers will respond to Modi Government’s demonetisation decision by not giving their vote to it)”.
Thousands of farmers from across the country are expected to assemble at Ramlila Maidan on November 29 and march to Parliament street the next day to demand a special joint Session of Parliament to discuss agrarian crisis. They are covering more than 10,000 km across 21 States. The march is expected to be second major farmer’s protest in the national Capital in two months.
“Farmers should vote to those who will fulfill their demands,” said noted activist Medha Patkar and Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav in a Press conference on Tuesday. “Despite PM Modi’s recent statements that he had taken initiatives to solve farmers’ distress, the issues remain. For this betrayal, farmers will give Modi Government and the BJP a befitting reply in 2019 election”, Ashok Dhawale, president of AIKS said.
Leaders of all non-BJP political parties have ben invited for the November 30 rally at Parliament Street. The Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar have also been invited for the meeting, All Indian Kisan Sangarsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) leaders said.
The farmers march demands that the two Kisan Mukti Bills — for guaranteed remunerative prices and for freedom from indebtedness — be debated and approved in Parliament. A cultural programme ‘Ek Sham Kisan Ke Naam’ dedicated to farmers would be held at the Ramlila ground on the first day of the congregation, where prominent singers Jasbir Jassi, Rabbi Shergil, Hari Om Panwar, Bhangra group of Jalandhar and Asmita theatre group will perform.
The farmers’ protest under the aegis of AIKSCC, joint platform of around 208 farmers’ organisations, is being billed as a reminiscent of a similar protest march to Mumbai by over thousands of farmers from across Maharashtra in early this month.
