Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 23: Even as continuing his tirade against the central government, the BJP Member of Parliament Varun Gandhi demanded a recast of the country’s agriculture policy, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the umbrella organization of the farmers spearheading the current agitation, has suspended one of its leading leaders for visiting the family members of a Lakhimpur Kheri deceased BJP worker.
Yogendra Yadav, while accepting the “collective wisdom” of the Morcha in suspending him from the decision-making body for one month, said in his opinion “sharing the grief of everyone, including our adversaries, draws upon humanitarianism as well as Indian culture.”
Varun Gandhi, who was recently dropped from the BJP national executive along with his mother Maneka Gandhi after he criticized the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which four farmers and a local journalist were mowed down by speeding cars allegedly owned by a BJP union minister, has called for a “rethink” of the country’s agriculture policies.
The Lok Sabha MP from UP’s Pilibhit tweeted a video of a farmer from Lakhimpur who said he had been forced to burn his paddy crop because it had remained unsold for 15 days. “A farmer from Uttar Pradesh – Samodh Singh – was going from mandi (wholesale market) to mandi for 15 days trying to sell his crop. After failing to do so, in desperation, he burned his entire crop,” Gandhi wrote as he shared the video. The video shows a man – presumably Samodh Singh – throwing kerosene on his crop and, despite some trying to hold him back, he sets fire to the whole thing.
“What has this system reduced farmers to? We need to rethink our agriculture policy,” Gandhi, who is the only BJP leader so far to speak up for the farmers’ agitation and against the Lakhimpur Kheri deaths, said. Ashish Mishra, the son of the union minister of state for home Ajay Mishra, who has confirmed that two of the three cars involved in the Lakhimpur violence were owned by his family, and two others have been arrested in this connection.
The BJP MP has been particularly critical of his party in UP; on Thursday he tweeted photos of floods in the state’s Terai region and slammed the Yogi Adityanath administration. “Much of the Terai is flooded. Donating dry rations by hand so no family is hungry till this calamity ends. It is painful that when the common man needs the system the most, he is left to fend for himself. If every response is individual-led then what does ‘governance’ mean?”
Uttar Pradesh votes for a new Assembly and government next year, with the BJP eager to retain control of the politically key state ahead of general elections in 2024. Gandhi last week tweeted another video – of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in which the late former Prime Minister warns the government against intimidating farmers. The video is reportedly from 1980 in which Vajpayee was seen cautioning the then Indira Gandhi government against repressing farmers.
The farmers’ months-long protest against the centre’s new farm laws has formed the backdrop for a series of hostile clashes between the ruling BJP and the opposition, including a fierce stand-off in Parliament that included physical confrontations in the final week. The protests have also included violent clashes between the farmers and police in various states, most notably BJP-ruled Haryana. The violence has left dozens injured on both sides and drawn scathing criticism from the opposition, which has accused the centre of using brutal force against farmers.
Meanwhile, socialist leader Yogendra Yadav, who had joined the farmers’ agitation from day one, said collective wisdom must prevail over individual understanding in any public movement. Yadav was barred from attending the meetings of the SKM, which has 46 farmers’ unions members and the main decision making body of the current farmers’ agitation, for a month for visiting the family of BJP leader Shubham Mishra, who was killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in a retaliatory measure by the agitating farmers following mowing down of the four farmers.
In a statement he shared on Twitter, Yadav said he respected the Morcha’s collective decision-making process and accepted the punishment handed out to him. He added that the farmers’ protest has emerged as a ray of hope for the country and it was the need of the hour to maintain its unity and decision-making process.
Explaining his decision to visit BJP victim’s family, Yadav has said “sharing the grief of everyone, including our adversaries, draws upon humanitarianism as well as Indian culture. As a policy, I have believed that expressing such sentiments do not weaken but actually strengthen any mass movement. Naturally, not everyone in the movement shares this understanding. I do hope that the present occasion triggers a constructive dialogue on this delicate issue,” Yadav said in his statement.
Stating that collective wisdom must prevail over individual understanding in any public movement like the farmers’ protest, he said he regretted “not consulting my colleagues in SKM” before deciding to visit the BJP worker’s family. Yadav said he accepted the punishment awarded to him and would continue to work, “more diligently than ever, for the success of this historic farmers’ movement.” Yadav was suspended after several farmer organisations demanded action against him. Manjit Singh Rai, president of Bhartiya Kisan Union, Doaba, claimed that 32 farmers’ unions were on the same page on the issue and they also want a public apology from Yadav.
