Farmers reject government proposal, to intensify stir

Boycott of Reliance Jio, dharnas at Adani & Ambani group offices

Politics

December 10, 2020

/ By / New Delhi

Farmers reject government proposal, to intensify stir

The protest will now target Ambani and Adani businesses directly (MIG photos/Varsha Singh)

A day after a relatively successful nationwide strike, leaders of protesting farmers have summarily rejected a draft proposal sent by the union government as being too vague and announce several measures to intensify their stir and to directly target Adani and Ambani groups.

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Nearly two weeks after they began their sit in at borders of Delhi and exasperated with fruitless talks with the central government, leaders of various farmers’ organisations have announced a series of measures to intensify their movement, soon after they rejected latest draft proposal sent by the government to resolve the issue. “The most important is that all the organisations who are in the joint forum of farmers which are hundreds and others who participated in Bharat Bandh on December 8 have all unanimously decided to reject the proposal and go ahead with reinforcement and intensification of the movement,” leading social activist Medha Patkar tells Media India Group.

The farmers say that the proposal was too vague and did not meet any of their demands. While rejecting the government offer, the farmers announced a series of measures to signal a significant intensification of their stir.

“The so-called concrete proposals are no different from what had been presented by the government on December 5 and now farmers have chalked out a programme for action in which they are saying they are calling for a boycott of Jio services as well as a boycott and a sit-in at any premises of the Adani or Ambani enterprises,” Kavitha Kuruganti, convenor of Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA), tells Media India Group. Asha is a network of farmers’ organisations, consumer groups, women’s organisations, environmental organisations, individual citizens and experts, with a presence in 23 states of the country.

The farmers say they have also called for making all toll plazas across the country toll free on December 12 and which would be enforced by farmers. Meanwhile, there are signs that the tens of thousands of farmers who have been protesting peacefully and in a very organised manner on various borders of Delhi may decide to enter the national capital.

Independently, millions of farmers from all over North India who have not yet joined the sit-in at Delhi’s borders may be asked to reach Delhi by December 14. The farmers will also launch district level dharnas and for people to start indefinite dharna at multiple sites all over the country. Farmers are also threatening to blockade BJP offices as well as block key roads. They say that they will block two major highways – Delhi-Jaipur as well as Delhi-Agra — on December 12.

“It is very important to understand that this movement now cannot be repealed or reversed and huge crowds at Delhi borders will be strengthened further and there will be indefinite sit ins at various places in different states. The unity and impact of the farmers’ protest will be enhanced including other social organisations like women’s and labourers’ organisations. It is also decided that the borders of Delhi will be further blocked and choked for pressuring the government and at the same time there would be attempts to reach out to every by-lane in the country to reach out to the people and explain to them the reasons behind the farmers’ protest and also to counter the false propaganda being spread by the government and which has also reached its peak,’’ warns Patkar.

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