‘Dilli Chalo’ protest: Haryana farmer unions to stay away but say ‘demands genuine’

“We support the demands of the farmers but they (Punjab farmer leaders) did not include us in the agitation. The farmers should be given MSP for the crops,” Bhartiya Kisan Union (Chaduni) president Gurnam Singh Chaduni, who is from Haryana, said.

The Haryana farmer leaders have blamed the farmer leaders of Punjab, who are leading the current phase of the agitation, for not including and consulting them for this phase of the stir. The Haryana farm leaders say that their Punjab counterparts should have maintained the unity of the SKM, which had won the “historic farmer movement against three contentious farm laws in 2020-21”.

Farmer leaders from Haryana have also warned the government against action against the agitating farmers.

“During the earlier call of Dilli Chalo by a section of farmer leaders from Punjab in February this year, the SKM had formed a six-member committee for unity but they did not respond. We are not part of this agitation call but we urge the government not to use force against the agitators. If force is used against the farmers, we will not tolerate it,” Bhartiya Kisan Mazdoor Union president Suresh Koth, who is also from Haryana, said. Koth, who is a member of the 30-member coordination committee of the SKM, said his organisation is not part of the current phase of the agitation.

Pagdi Sambhal Jatta Kisan Sangharsh Samiti president Mandeep Nathwan said, “We are part of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha which is not part of this phase of the agitation. Before giving a call for ‘Dilli Chalo’, the organisers should have consulted with all the farmer bodies.”

“As farmer unions, we opt for different methods for the demands of the farmers. If they are struggling for the farmers, it is a good move,” Nathwan added.

Farmer bodies from Haryana had largely stayed away from the agitation during the ‘Dilli Chalo’ call by farmer leaders of Punjab in February. However, they had staged marches after force was used against the agitating farmers at the inter-state borders of Punjab and Haryana. The death of a Punjab farmer, Shubhkaran Singh, during the clashes with the Haryana police at the state border on February 21 had fuelled the agitation in Haryana too, leading to several protests.

However, a farmer body from Haryana, BKU (Bhagat Singh), which had actively participated in the February agitation too, has urged the farmer bodies of the state to participate in the latest ‘Dilli Chalo’ agitation insisting that this is a fight for the common cause of farmers.

Meanwhile, protest sit-ins continue at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, organised by the KMM and SKM (non-political). Jagjit Singh Dallewal, coordinator of SKM (non-political), has been on a hunger strike since November 26 at the Khanauri border, which entered its tenth day on Thursday.