Protesting farmer unions have issued a call for a nation-wide strike on March 26, when their agitation against the Centre’s recent farm laws will complete four months. The strike will be effective from morning to evening, union leaders said.
Meanwhile, another strike will be conducted on March 15 to protest the rise in fuel prices and privatisation of railways on March 15, farmer leader Buta Singh Burjgill said. Various trade unions will also partake in the March 15 strike, he added.
Furthermore, on March 19, the farmers will observe "Mandi Bachao-Kheti Bachao" day, he said.
The farmer unions have also decided to observe Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev's ‘Shaheedi divas’, Burjgill added.
Farmers leaders also said that copies of the new farm laws will be burnt during ‘Holika Dahan’ on March 28.
Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at the Delhi border points --- Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur --- for over four months, demanding the repeal of farm laws and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.
The protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the MSP system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporations.
However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.
Earlier, in an attempt to intensity their protests, the farmers had also announced that they would campaign against the BJP in all poll-bound states. The farm unions had said that they would send numerous teams to these states and urge the farmers there to vote against the BJP.
Earlier today, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said he will go to Kolkata this week to urge farmers to defeat the BJP in the West Bengal Assembly elections, but claimed he is not supporting any political party. Tikait also made it clear that his visit was not meant to seek votes.
"I will go to Kolkata on March 13. The clarion call for a decisive struggle will come from Kolkata. We will talk to farmers there and urge them to defeat the BJP," the BKU leader said. He was in Ballia on Wednesday to address a 'Kisan Mahapanchayat'.
Replying to a query if he would meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Tikait said there was no such programme.
Besides West Bengal, Assembly elections are going to be held in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Counting of votes will take place on May 2.
Taking pot shots at the ruling BJP, Tikait said he too belonged to Ayodhya and he is also a descendant of Lord Rama. He further stressed that there is no need to divide the farmers' movement on regional lines.
Stating that political parties too have now started organising Kisan Panchayats, Tikait said 2021 would be the year of the farmers’ movement. The echo of the farmers' movement in India is being heard across the world, he added.
Giving a call to intensify the farmers' struggle, which he said is a symbol of their self-respect, Tikait warned that if the farmers are defeated, labourers and youth will also be defeated.
Stressing that the fight has to be organised with full force, he asked the farmers to mend their tractor and trolleys and be prepared. He said the call to leave for Delhi could be given any day.
He also called for giving a boost to the movement in neighbouring Bihar.
(With PTI inputs)
