Ghaziabad: Cold response to strike call makes farmers rethink strategy

Deputy commissioner of police (rural) Vivek Chandra Yadav said they had put up checkpoints at nine borders with Baghpat, Meerut and Hapur, but there were no roadblocks or demonstrations in the rural belt

The ‘Grameen Bharat Bandh’ (rural lockdown) call given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) evoked a dull response in Ghaziabad district on Friday.

Police personnel stand guard in Ghazipur, anticipating protests on Friday, on account of the nationwide strike call. (SAkib Ali/HT Photo)

According to farmer leaders in western Uttar Pradesh, the call was intended to galvanise support of farmers, workers or rural masses by nationally highlighting the rural people’s livelihood concerns.

On Friday, the general call was for staging demonstrations and observing work strikes in towns and villages. Meanwhile, no untoward incident was reported across the rural belt of Ghaziabad district.

According to deputy commissioner of police (rural) Vivek Chandra Yadav, they had put up checkpoints at nine borders with Baghpat, Meerut and Hapur along with deployment of police force.

“There were no roadblocks or demonstrations seen across the rural belt. The day passed off peacefully,” he said.

The SKM in a statement claimed that the lockdown -- industrial/sectoral strike -- was a “big success”.

“The struggle reflects anger of farmers, workers and rural people across India. It has succeeded to bring back people’s livelihood issues on the national agenda ahead of the Lok Sabha elections,” it said.

However, a section of farmer leaders said that the farmers, especially in western Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Uttarakhand, need to revisit their strategy while calling for action over their demands.

The key demands include a law on the minimum support price (MSP), implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pensions for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, withdrawal of police cases and “justice” for victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

Dharmendra Malik, national spokesperson for Bharatiya Kisan Union (Arajnaitik) said that observing strikes at the workplace or shunning work in agricultural fields for a day will actually not impact the government but the farmers and workers.

To be sure, the SKM till date has lent its moral support to the ongoing farmers’ “Delhi Chalo” agitation. It is not part of the ongoing ‘Delhi Chalo’ farmers’ agitation led by its breakaway faction --- SKM (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee Morcha (KMM) -- at the Shambhu Border (Haryana-Punjab) where thousands of farmers are having a faceoff with the security personnel since February 13. They wish to march to Delhi to press for their demands.

Meanwhile, a major farmers’ group led by Naresh Tikait led Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) remained non-committal when asked whether they would join the ongoing farmers’ agitation in support of ongoing protests at the Shambhu Border.

“Such calls strengthen the organisation and unity. Friday’s call was given by the SKM. We have a meeting in Sisauli, Muzaffarnagar on Saturday and will decide our future course of action. If the government doesn’t listen to demands, the movement will spread further,” said farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, national spokesperson of BKU.

The farmers’ leaders from Uttarakhand said that they expect that some developments may take place for joining of farmers’ protest along with the ongoing agitation at the Shambhu Border.

Farmers’ demands need to be resolved with a unified approach like the 2020-21 agitation, said Jagtar Singh Bajwa, farmer leader from Uttarakhand who also led SKM’s 2020-21 agitation at Ghaziabad’s UP Gate border.

“To resolve farmers’ issues, all unions should come together on the basis of issues despite their ideological differences,” he added.

The farmers’ leaders HT spoke to also said that with the “Grameen Bandh” call, they also came to know the type of approach that farmers, and workers ask for to get their demands fulfilled.

Amid the impasse at the Shambhu Border, the Union ministers and farmer leaders are scheduled to meet on February 18 for the fourth round of talks. The two sides had already met on February 8, 12 and 15 but the talks remained inconclusive.