Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 1: Even as the centre refused to count deaths of farmers consequent to the on-going agitation against the three contentious farm laws which have since been repealed, the farm leaders on Wednesday made it clear that the agitation would not be withdrawn till the government enacted law for guaranteed minimum support price.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait cautioned the government against breaking the farmers’ unity and dividing the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) which was spearheading the one-year old agitation, by “spreading false rumours, the government rejected the opposition demand for compensation to the family members of the farmers died while participating in the agitation.
In Parliament, the Opposition continued to demand compensation for the kin of the farmers who lost their lives during the year-long protest, the government on the floor of the House maintained that it had no record of those who died.
In response to a question on whether it proposed to provide financial assistance to the family of farmers who died during the agitation, the government stated, “The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare has no record in the matter and hence the question does not arise.”
During the previous Monsoon Session as well, the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar had stated that the Centre has no record of farmers’ deaths. However, the Punjab government data showed that till July 20, details of 220 such farmers/farm labourers who died in the agitation have been verified. Out of these 220, 203 (92%) farmers/farm labourers deceased were from Malwa region of the state, while 11 (5%) deaths were from Majha and six (2.7%) from Doaba.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, the body spearheading the farmer protest, has put the figure to over 670 deaths. A day after the prime minister Narendra Modi announced the rollback of the farm laws, the farmers’ body stated, “So far, more than 670 protests have died during the course of the movement. The Modi government has refused to acknowledge the high human cost. The martyrs also deserve homage to be paid to them in the Parliament session, and a memorial erected in their name.”
Tikait, the BKU national spokesman, said farmers would not return to villages until the law on the MSP was enacted.
He alleged that the government wanted the agitation to end without talking to farmers across the table. “The government should make it clear if Delhi’s doors are closed for farmers. If that is the case, can farmers shut their doors on the government,” he asked.
When the movement was inching towards its conclusion, “the government shouldn’t indulge in jalsaazi [forgery]”. “We are ready to talk across the table. The SKM was, is, and will be there,” he stated.
The last card in the hand of the government was to break the unity of the umbrella body of farmers’ unions. “We are meeting on December 4 to decide the future course,” he remarked.
The movement was in its final round and farmers should be prepared for it and reach the morchas in large numbers. “A rumour is being spread that farmers are returning home after the farm laws have been repealed in Parliament. I want to clarify that farmers continue to camp at the Delhi borders as only one issue has been resolved,” he observed.
Tikait alleged that a section of the media was trying to spread misinformation that the demand for law on MSP was new. “In 2011, a committee was formed and the present Prime Minister was a member of it as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. The committee said in its report a legal guarantee on MSP should be given. We appeal to the Prime Minister to implement the committee’s report. There is no need to form a new one,” he said in a video message. “A committee will be required when the MSP law is enacted, in order to ensure its implementation. Don’t try to confuse us.”
Questions on the prospective Seed Bill, Pesticide Bill, and Kisan Credit Card remained and they could be addressed by a committee proposed by the Prime Minister. Tikait asked what would happen to the tractors that were confiscated in Delhi during the protests. “In Haryana alone, there are cases on around 55000 people. Those cases, in addition to the cases in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, should be taken back. Nobody wants to take these cases home,” he added.
