As thousands of farmers take part in tractor parade in Punjab, over 100 detained in Mansa

“They have been taken to some undisclosed location but our tractor march will continue…it is on several demands but in Mansa, the Kulerian village issue has also been included,” social activist Narian Dutt, the president of the Punjab Inqlaabi Manch, told The Indian Express.

The detentions took place even as thousands of farmers across Punjab took part in the tractor parade – organised after a two-year gap on January 26 – following a call by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella organisation of farmer unions.

The farmers have been protesting outside the office of the Budhlada deputy superintendent of police for the past 20 days over the ownership rights for the farmland in Kulerian village where farmers have been tilling the fields for decades but the land ownership is in the government’s name.

Gurdeep Singh Rampura, senior vice-president of BKU Dakaunda (Dhaner faction) and Makhan Singh Bhainibagha, the state committee member of BKU Dakaunda are among those detained.

The detentions took place even as thousands of farmers across Punjab took part in the tractor parade – organised after a two-year gap on January 26 – following a call by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella organisation of farmer unions.

Thousands of farmers took part in the parade, displaying the tricolour and their union’s flag on the tractors. Many said they have taken a pledge “to fight against the diktat of the Union government”. The parade will be held in nearly 500 districts across the country.

In Bathinda, the tractor march was led by 20-year-old Baldeep Kaur, a young farmer from Mehma Bhagwana village in the district. “Even in the Kisan Andolan (farmers’ struggle) she had led the first tractor march of Punjab in July 2020,” Baldeep’s father Jagseer Singh said.

The tractor parade by 37 farmer unions in Punjab, under the banner of SKM, will continue at the district and tehsil level till 1 pm. Later, the BKU (Ugrahan) will hold a separate march. “We are not going to give any memorandum to anyone…but it is a reminder to the (Narendra) Modi government and the state government about our unfulfilled promises,” said Manjit Singh Dhaner, president of BKU Dakaunda (Dhaner).

“SKM is holding the tractor parade at the district level in all the states and Union Territories. It is expected that the parade shall be held in at least 500 districts. SKM appeals to farmers to join the parade in great numbers, and after the conclusion of the formal parade in Delhi, the tractor parade will be held,” Buta Singh Burjgill, member of SKM’s National Coordination Committee (NCC) said.

“Thirty-seven farmer unions in Punjab under the SKM banner held a meeting in Ludhiana on Thursday morning… We took an oath before kickstarting the parade, pledging that we believe in the Constitution of India. But the current government is acting against it so we took a pledge to fight against this diktat of the Union government,” Jagmohan Singh Patiala, general secretary of farmer union BKU Dakaunda, told The Indian Express.

In Barnala, the tractor march was held under the leadership of BKU Dakaunda (Dhaner) president Manjit Singh Dhaner. “The tractors were serviced and farmers will peacefully hold the parade,” Dutt said.

Baldeep Kaur is all set for tractor parade in Bathinda

“The farmers will take a pledge to protect the principles of democracy, federalism, secularism, and socialism enshrined in the Constitution of India. Along with tractors, other vehicles and motorbikes will also take part in the parade,” NCC member Avik Saha said.

In Haryana’s Jind, SKM leader Azad Palwa said that farmers from different villages gathered at their respective district headquarters ahead of the tractor parade. “In Jind, the farmers have identified a 12 km route for the tractor march. We are expecting over 2,500 tractors during the Jind march,” Palwa said.

Besides farmer organisations, trade unions are also participating in the tractor march.

The farmers have been demanding a legal guarantee for MSP based on the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report, an extension of MSP to other crops, withdrawal of cases registered against farmers during the farmer protest and for burning paddy, and provision of a Rs 10,000 pension per month for farmers aged 60 and above, among others.

The SKM had held the first tractor parade on Republic Day on the Delhi borders during the farmer agitation against the three contentious farm laws in 2021. Although the route of the parade was outside Delhi, many farmers had entered Red Fort and several farmers were booked. Many FIRs have not yet been quashed, as per reports. Although the farm laws were repealed on November 19, 2021, the SKM says that most of the demands have not yet been implemented, despite written assurances.

Key demands

* Legal guarantee for MSP based on recommendations of Swaminathan Commission report; extension of MSP to other crops

* Waiver of loans raised by farmers and farm labourers

* Provision of a Rs 10,000 pension per month for farmers aged 60 and above

* Withdrawal of cases registered against farmers during their 13-month-long agitation over 2020-21, and for burning paddy

* Compensation for families of farmers who died during the 2020-2021 agitation

* Action against the accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri case

* Free electricity, and withdrawal of Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022