Chandigarh: Lower than a yr after the Bhagwant Mann authorities got here to energy in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Occasion’s (AAP) honeymoon interval with Punjab farmers seems to be over.
Believed to be one of many chief drivers of AAP’s landslide victory in Punjab this March, farmers in Punjab have been up in arms towards the Mann authorities for varied causes prior to now few months. The protesters declare they’re utterly disillusioned by the way in which the federal government has been tackling their issues.
Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal Thursday issued a press assertion itemizing the varied “pro-farmers” selections taken by the Mann authorities since they took over in March. On the press convention, Dhaliwal took nice pains to elucidate how the federal government had introduced in a minimal assist value (MSP) for moong dal, given jobs to the following of kin of the farmers who died through the farmers’ agitation in 2020-2021, and lowered stubble burning within the state.
The assertion seemed to be an try and mollify protesters on the Malbros Worldwide Restricted in Mansurwal village in Zira tehsil, Ferozepur. Steered primarily by farmer unions, the protest entered its fifth month in December, with protesters demanding the closure of the Malbros manufacturing unit they declare is accountable for polluting their soil, air, and groundwater.
Nonetheless, regardless of Dhaliwal’s statements, farmers stay unimpressed.
“It’s clear that there’s a large distinction between what the AAP had promised and what they’re lastly delivering,” mentioned Surjit Singh Phool, head of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Krantikari), a farmers’ union that’s a part of the continuing Zira Sanjha Morcha agitation.
BKU (Krantikari) isn’t the one union on the Zira protest — the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a coalition of a number of farmer unions that spearheaded the year-long protests towards the now-repealed farm legal guidelines, can be a part of it.
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Why Punjab farmers are upset
The Malbros manufacturing unit in Zira has remained closed since 24 July after villagers held a dharna outdoors its gates.
The protests have additionally led to confrontations with the state authorities — for 3 consecutive days this month, protesters clashed with Punjab Police after there have been makes an attempt to have them forcibly faraway from the protest website.
After a number of protesters had been booked and even detained following the conflict, farmer unions swelled the ranks of the protesters, prompting police to lathicharge them.
The Punjab authorities justified the lathicharge by saying that it was merely following Punjab and Haryana Excessive Courtroom’s orders to clear protesters from outdoors the manufacturing unit gate.
Protesters, nonetheless, say they gained’t budge till the manufacturing unit is shut down. Punjabi singer Jagdeep Randhawa, who went to the Zira protest website Thursday, mentioned he was as soon as a supporter of Mann and the AAP however that he was “shocked” at how individuals of the state had been now being “taken for a experience”.
“AAP leaders had been speaking about actual points solely after they weren’t in energy. After they got here to energy, they’re behaving like all different events who’ve looted Punjab,” he mentioned.
The police motion isn’t the one concern upsetting the protesting farmers. Additionally they accuse the Mann authorities of siding with the manufacturing unit proprietor, liquor baron Deep Malhotra.
Malhotra, a former MLA of the Shiromani Akali Dal, is now thought of to be near AAP’S Delhi management. In October, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided two of his premises in Punjab as a part of its ongoing investigation into the Delhi excise coverage rip-off.
What appears to hassle the protesters most is the velocity at which the Punjab authorities abided by the HC’s orders after it was fined Rs 20 crore for the losses claimed by the manufacturing unit over the protests.
“What was the tearing hurry to pay compensation to a liquor manufacturing unit?” Phool requested Thursday. “Farmers should protest for months to get compensation for broken crops. No transfer has been made by the federal government to problem the superb imposed by the courtroom. It virtually appears that they’re pleased to compensate the liquor baron whereas attempting to forcibly take away us from the positioning.”
Rising rift
In November 2020, when farmers held protests on the borders of Delhi, AAP was amongst a number of opposition events extending their assist.
In December 2020, together with AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, Mann, then an MP from Sangrur, protested the farm legal guidelines in Parliament and known as farmers “ann daattas” (suppliers of meals).
Whereas chatting with the media the identical month, Mann mentioned the AAP would file fits towards BJP leaders “defaming” the farmers protesting in Delhi.
In 2021, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal had even handed a decision within the Delhi Meeting towards the farm legal guidelines.
However, the previous few months have seen a rising rift between Punjab’s farmers and the AAP.
The primary confrontation befell on 29 March — days after the AAP authorities was elected to energy.
Seven farmers had been wounded in a police lathicharge in Lambi, Muktsar, when BKU (Ugrahan) — the most important farmer union within the state — was holding protests demanding compensation for broken cotton crops.
On 9 October, BKU (Ugrahan) as soon as once more sat on a protest outdoors Mann’s home in Sangrur. The protest lasted three weeks and ended solely when farmers got a written assurance that their calls for for compensation could be met.
At the moment, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, the top of BKU (Ugrahan), mentioned that there would have been no want for the protest if Mann had saved the promise he made to them throughout their assembly on 7 October.
Then, within the first week of November, a whole lot of farmers belonging to the Sanjha Mazdoor Morcha — a conglomerate of farm labour unions — had been lathicharged after they had been protesting outdoors Mann’s Sangrur residence.
Whereas farm labourers had been demanding a hike of their day by day wages, Mann was campaigning with Kejriwal in Gujarat forward of the meeting elections.
Later the identical month, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, head of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political), sat on a week-long quick to protest towards what he mentioned was Mann’s try at defaming farmers. The dharna got here after Mann held a press convention accusing farmer unions of holding “paid protests virtually as if that they had laid out a schedule of protests amongst themselves”.
To farmers who really feel cheated by the AAP authorities, Mann’s response to the protests has been lower than passable.
When confronted with anti-government slogans close to the Chandigarh-Mohali border in Could this yr, Mann mentioned the protests, held to demand a bonus on that season’s wheat yield, had been “undesirable and unwarranted”.
Whereas farmer unions mentioned Mann, having first agreed to fulfill them, cancelled the assembly on the final minute, Mann requested if “elevating murdabad slogans is the way in which to carry a gathering”.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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