The internal discord within the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta–Sidhupur) came to the fore on Tuesday with several key members of the organisation forming a parallel faction, hinting at a vertical split.
In a meeting held in Patiala, at least eight district presidents, along with several other key stakeholders of the union, accused veteran farm leader and president Jagjeet Singh Dallewal of making major decisions arbitrarily and lack of transparency in handling funds.
BKU (Ekta Sidhupur) is one of the key farmer organisations of SKM (non-political) that spearheaded the year-long agitation at the Punjab–Haryana borders.
Announcing their decision to chart a new course, the rebel faction on Tuesday elected Dalvir Singh Sidhu as the new convener of BKU (Ekta Sidhupur).
Dalvir Singh is the son of veteran farmer leader Pishora Singh Sidhupur, who was the founder of BKU (Ekta Sidhupur) and remained its face until his demise in 2017. Following Pishora Singh’s death, Jagjeet Singh Dallewal was elected as the president of the organisation the same year.
The rebels claimed that no organisational elections had been held to elect representatives of the union since 2017, and the delay has eroded the internal democracy within the outfit.
{{/usCountry}}The rebels claimed that no organisational elections had been held to elect representatives of the union since 2017, and the delay has eroded the internal democracy within the outfit.
{{/usCountry}}Addressing a press conference, Dalvir Singh said that he would function as the convener of the organisation for the next six months, during which fresh elections would be conducted to elect a new president and other office-bearers. “Our aim is to restore internal democracy, transparency, and collective decision-making in the union,” he said.
He further alleged that the tragic death of 21-year-old Shubh Karan Singh at Khanauri could have been avoided.
“We had requested Jagjeet Singh Dallewal not to send youngsters to break barricades guarded by armed policemen and security personnel. But he did not listen. This is why we lost 21-year-old Shubhkaran Singh during the protest,” he said.
He further claimed that important strategic decisions were taken without consensus. “We repeatedly asked that all major decisions be taken after discussion and agreement among members of the union. Instead, Dallewal, along with Kaka Singh Kotra, took decisions arbitrarily on their own,” he alleged.
Dallewal refuted the allegations. Calling it baseless, Dallewal said that all these people have already thrown out of the union. “As to the functioning of the union, farmer organisations in Punjab, from Haryana and Rajasthan are merging into our organisation. This proves that there is nothing wrong with our functioning. The newly elected convener was not even a member of BKU (Ekta Sidhupur).”