Mostly with wheat cultivation nearly complete in Punjab, a large number of farmers and farm laborers are planning another ‘march' to the Delhi State Borders on May 5 in order to maintain the momentum of the ongoing protest against the Centre's farm laws.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan), one of the largest outfits in Punjab, and the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC), a prominent outfit at the forefront of the ongoing farmers' agitation, have announced that groups of farmers and farm laborers from across the state will begin moving to Delhi in the coming days, in order to keep the number of protesters at the agitation sites at a minimum.
KMSC plans to send scores of its member farmers and farm laborers from Amritsar district on May 5, while the BKU (Ugrahan) plans to send ‘big batches' of farmers after May 10. “On May 5, many groups of farmers will depart from Amritsar for Delhi. Preparations are nearly complete, and we will ensure that the agitation's momentum at the protest site near the Delhi border does not wane due to a lack of protesters,” KMSC general secretary Sarvan Singh Pandher said on Tuesday.
“On May 5, at least a thousand tractor-trolleys and other vehicles will begin a march from Amritsar to Delhi. The new batch, which will travel to the Singhu-Kundli border, is expected to have 10,000-15,000 people. This will be our twelfth large batch to leave since the unrest began on Delhi's borders. A smaller number of farmer batches continue to travel to and from the Delhi border on a regular basis, as well as from several villages,” he added.
The call for repeal will not go anywhere
Pandher went on to say that the BJP-led federal government should not be under the impression that the insurgency would end soon. “We'll keep fighting until our demands are fulfilled. Unless the government repeals the three notorious farm laws, Punjab farmers will begin to throng the Delhi borders,” he added.
For months, tens of thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh, have camped along Delhi's borders, demanding that the three farm laws be repealed.
The BKU (U) is currently conducting meetings with farmers in all districts to discuss new tactics for the ongoing unrest, according to Sukhdev Singh, the organization's general secretary. “We will be sending a contingent of people from the State to the Delhi border after we have discussions with farmers, which will last until May 10th.
We're rallying people to support the Delhi 'morcha' (front). “We are constantly organizing events to mobilize people to travel to Delhi and to improve the ongoing ‘morchas' in Punjab,” he said. “A contingent of about 18,000 farmers left for Delhi on April 21. We're planning to take a huge number of people to the Delhi'morchas' once more,” he added.
Patiala, Sangrur, Mansa, Bathinda, Moga, Barnala, Faridkot, Muktsar, Fazilka, Ferozpur, Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Gurdapsur, Ludhiana, and Jalandhar are among the districts where the BKU (U) has a stronghold.
He said that the BKU (U) would not tolerate anything other than the farm laws being repealed. “As a legal right, the government could also ensure procurement of all crops and in all states at the Minimum Support Price,” he said.
