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Delhi Chalo march: Haryana farmers stay away from protest
Leaders of Haryana BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh) and Bharatiya Kisan Naujawan Union have been camping in Punjab to evade arrests, and their followers are in hiding. Their strategy, it seems, is to steer Haryana farmers after they are able to breach the inter-state barriers and force an entry into Haryana accompanied by Punjab farmers.
Even though the Punjab farmers riding tractors packed with ration and utensils hit the roads on Tuesday with fury, the cultivators in Haryana stayed away and did not leave their home and hearth on the first day of ‘Dilli Chalo’ march.
It was business as usual in Haryana’s hinterland and shops and business establishments remained open in urban areas even as traffic routes were diverted at some place in the wake of farmers’ protest.
This time, a few farm organisations from Haryana are a part of the protest and Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the current wave of protests.
Leaders of Haryana BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh) and Bharatiya Kisan Naujawan Union have been camping in Punjab to evade arrests, and their followers are in hiding. Their strategy, it seems, is to steer Haryana farmers after they are able to breach the inter-state barriers and force an entry into Haryana accompanied by Punjab farmers.
Nonetheless, eyebrows were raised in Haryana on Tuesday over the absence of Bharatiya Kisan Naujawan Union state convener Abhimanyu Kohar, who was the protest’s face in central Haryana; BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh) leaders Amarjeet Singh Mohri and Ramandeep Singh Mann and Bhartiya Kisan Ekta leader Lakhvinder Singh Aulakh and BKU (Kheti Bachao) leader Jarnail Singh Malwala in Sirsa belt.
Most of these farmer leaders said they were present on Haryana-Punjab borders in Punjab side assigned to them by the unions. Kohar said he had gone to Punjab from Chandigarh after attending a meeting with Union ministers last night. “Our union cadre went to Punjab side as there were apprehensions that police may arrest us. If we had stayed in Haryana and the cops would have arrested us. Leadership is required in every agitation. I was present at Khanauri side in Punjab and many other leaders from Haryana were also present at assigned places in Punjab,” he added.
“On Tuesday, there was no impact of the protest in Haryana. Not a single tractor-trailer of farmers was seen joining the protest from this side. Those on the forefront of this protest were hiding in Punjab. So far, Haryana farmers have stayed away from the protest,” said Gurnam Singh Charuni, Haryana’s BKU (Charuni) head, who was the face of the earlier farmers’ stir.
The main farmer outfits, who are a part of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, which had spearheaded the earlier protest are not supporting the present protest.
In Haryana, three farmer unions such as BKU(Charuni), BKU-led by Tikait brothers and All India Kisan Sabha, have huge support base and they are not a part of this agitation.
BKU (Kheti Bachao) leader Jarnail Singh Malwala, who has been tasked to lead the protest at Dabwali border, said the protest will gain momentum when the Punjab farmers enter Haryana.
Rohtak-based All India Kisan Sabha state general secretary and Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) senior leader Inderjeet Singh said they are not backing this agitation. “We are going to hold demonstrations separately on February 16,” he said, adding that they are against any use of force against the farmers.
The supporters of farmer unions taking part in this agitation said the Haryana farmer leaders’ preparations were not up to the mark on the ground.
“The Punjab farmer leaders were not aware of the real ground situation in Haryana. The Haryana farmer leaders spearheading the present protest do not have a big following in the state,” said supporters of SKM (non-political).
As per reports, Haryana Police conducted raids at the residence of Haryana farmer leaders and held flag marches in their villages.
Those supporting the stir in Haryana said tactics like warning through police vans, calls by patwaris and threats to cancel passports and registration of tractors, if they joined the protest, seem to be keeping the farmers at bay.
The BKU faction’s ally in Karnal has, however, come out in support of them.
Bahadur Mehla, spokesperson, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Sir Chotu Ram), said the BJP-JJP government is doing atrocities on farmers and condemned usage of tear gas shells on growers.
“This time, they didn’t even consult the Samyukta Kisan Morcha. They should have taken all unions in confidence before taking this step. That’s the mistake they made and because of which there is no response to this agitation in Haryana,” said Charuni.
