Haryana farmers to burn effigies of PM, business tycoons today

In a recorded video message to the farmers of Haryana, state Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Gurnam Singh Chaduni has asked the farmers to burn these effigies in every village.

“As you know, this is agitation (struggle) of janata versus corporates in the country. Just few persons have taken control over the economy of the country and the citizens have reached at the verge of starvation. Burn effigies of Modi and the corporates in your villages on December 5….so that a message could be conveyed to the government from the masses,” Chaduni added.

Explaining reasons behind the decision to burn effigies of corporates, a farmer leader from Bhiwani district, Dayanand Poonia, said, “The farmers feel these laws have been introduced to favour the corporates so that they can buy entire food grains from the farmers. Later on, they will sell the food grains at much higher prices to gain maximum profits.”

“The farmers also know that the tactics are being adopted to hand over resources of the country to few hands so that they can exploit the countrymen. Sooner or later, they will try to grab the land parcels of farmers after initially taking the same in the name of contract farming. With this, the farmers will turn labourers in their own agricultural fields,” added Poonia, who is state secretary of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) in Haryana.

Encouraged with the growing support to the farmers agitation in Haryana villages, Poonia said, “Now, the farmers are coming out in large numbers after getting a call from the farmer organisations. They are determined to see the withdrawal of anti-farmer laws.”

JJP MLA from Barwala Jogi Ram Sihag, who has been opposing the three farm laws in the current form, said that he was hopeful that the matter will be resolved on Saturday during the talks between farmers and government. Earlier, Sihag had stated that the labourers would be biggest sufferers after implementation of the new laws.

Haryana DGP Manoj Yadava told The Indian Express that they were keeping an eye on all the developments related to the agitation. “We will ensure that such events take place peacefully,” he added.

Sirsa BJP leader quits party

A local BJP leader from Sirsa, Surender Nehra, on Friday announced his resignation from the membership of the party.

“I will join the farmers in their call of Bharat Bandh against the farm laws on December 8,” Nehra told The Indian Express. In a letter to Haryana BJP president Om Prakash Dhankar, Nehra said, “With the introduction of new farm laws, the farmers have apprehensions that the mandi system will collapse and they have to sell their produce to big businessmen at throw away prices. Especially, the small farmers will face adverse impacts because of these laws. The farmers are on agitation because the new laws will ensure benefits to big capitalists.”

A former member of Sirsa Zila Parishad, Nehra is son of former minister Jagdish Nehra, who had contested Assembly election from Rania constituency as BJP candidate in 2014. When contacted, a senior BJP leader from Sirsa claimed that Surender Nehra was not taking part in party activities for the past two years.

Meanwhile, members of panchayat bodies have started resigning from their posts in support of farmers. There are reports that few members of Zila Parishad and village panchayats have resigned from their posts in Sirsa, Kaithal and Fatehabad district.