Dilli Chalo: UP, Rajasthan farmers to join with 1000 tractor-trolleys

Talan added, “Yes, if talks don’t yield any results, farmers from Uttar Pradesh will be ready. We, along with BKU(Tomar) members, will come in around 300 tractor-trolleys.” Unions associated with KKM will also be coming from Uttar Pradesh, and hence the number of tractor-trolleys is likely to exceed 500 when farmers from both forums gather, said Sarwan Singh Pandher, coordinator of KMM.

Meanwhile, the next round of talks is likely to take place on February 12 between farmers, central government officials, and ministers, coordinated by the Punjab government. Dallewal said, “We were asked by the central ministers about another meeting on February 15, which we refused and said that our call is on February 13 and we can’t agree to a meeting later than February 13. So they proposed February 12, but they are yet to give anything in writing to us about this meeting. Hence, as of now, we can’t say that the date of the meeting has been fixed.”

Sarwan Singh Pandher, coordinator of KMM, said, “The ADGP intelligence, Punjab, also called to ask if we would be amenable to a meeting on February 12, but they are yet to give us anything in writing about it, which includes timing and venue, and we don’t know who will come from Delhi.”

Meanwhile, farmer unions that are part of Dilli Chalo are going to the gurdwara to do ardaas for ‘Chardi Kala’ of the farmers’ protest. One such ardaas took place in Pandher Kalan village of Amritsar, attended by Pandher and many other farmers and their families. “Many stringent actions are being taken in Haryana ahead of Dilli Chalo protest call, but farmers can come via rail as well. Haryana government has perhaps forgotten the after-effects of repression on farmers,” said Lakhwinder Singh Aulakh, president of Bharti Kisan Ekta(Haryana).

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, however, is trying to position himself as a bridge between the farmers and the central government, as portrayed on X by AAP Punjab. BJP ministers are also trying to project that they are serious about the demands of farmers. “We had sent our memorandum to the union ministers on February 5, and on February 8, when three ministers came to Chandigarh, they told us that soon after reading the email, they had got in touch with the Punjab government and asked them to help in organizing a meeting. We want MSP to be made a legal guarantee, quashing of FIRs against farmers lodged during farm agitation, and punishment to culprits of Lakhimpur Kheri incident,” said Pandher.