Tamil Nadu farmer unions to stage statewide protest against SIPCOT project, call for minister Velu’s removal

The collective passed a set of resolutions, including urging the state government to withdraw all the cases booked against the farmers who participated in the protest against the Melma-SIPCOT project. It noted that the government should revoke the Goondas Act invoked against A Arul, a farmer leader of Uzhavar Urimai Iyakkam.

The protesters also appealed to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin to remove Tamil Nadu Minister for Public Works E V Velu for saying that it is wrong on the part of farmers from one district to participate in the protest in issues related to another district, and the Tiruvannamalai district collector, superintendent of police, for passing orders to register a case against the farmers.

The unions urged the government to drop all the projects that require acquiring agricultural land to construct factories. The farmers of Melma and eight other neighbouring villages were protesting for over 120 days on their patta land against the acquisition of 3,174 acres of land for the proposed phase III project of SIPCOT at Cheyyar.

According to the government, the project provides employment opportunities, as was the case during the earlier two projects in the district and it claimed that only seven acres of the total land are wetlands. The government said of the 1,881 land owners, only 239 raised objections to the acquisition of land, and it was due to the instigation of a few people for their personal benefits.

On November 4, 20 protesters were arrested by the police based on an FIR filed in August. Against seven farmers, who are lodged in different prisons across the state, the Tiruvannamalai district administration invoked the Goondas Act. The government’s action received condemnation from several opposition parties and activists. They said the government is trying to oppress the fundamental rights of the farmers.

Following this, CM Stalin ordered the cancellation of the Goondas charges against six farmers, except Arul.

Arappor Iyakkam, a non-governmental anti-corruption watchdog, which had been at the forefront of the issue since the beginning, demanding the government to release the farmers, posted a video on November 19 where an older man is seen rubbishing the allegations of the government officials who had claimed that the protest is due to the instigation of Arul, a native of Krishnagiri, and saying he had no connection to the farmer’s protest over the acquisition of agricultural land in Tiruvannamalai.

The man who identified himself as the father of Devan, one among the seven farmers arrested by the government, claimed that he was taken in a car to Cheyyar by functionaries of the ruling DMK and made to say that Arul instigated the protest. However, that is not true, and his son participated in the protest out of his own wish.

இவர் தான் குண்டர் சட்டத்தில் கைது செய்யப்பட்ட விவசாயி தேவனின் தந்தை. அமைச்சர் #குண்டர்_சட்ட_வேலு பத்திரிக்கையாளர் சந்திப்பில் இவரை வைத்துக் கொண்டு தான் அருள் ஆறுமுகம் விவசாயிகளை அரசுக்கு எதிராக தூண்டியதாக விவசாயிகள் குடும்பம் சொன்னதாக பொய் சொல்லி நாடகம் நடத்தினார்.

அமைச்சரும்… pic.twitter.com/Ojee7WjZdz

— Arappor Iyakkam (@Arappor) November 19, 2023

R Soundar, a cousin of accused farmer Arul, noted that the latter worked in an IT company in Krishnagiri before initiating the Uzhavar Urimai Iyakkam, which fights for farmers’ rights.

“Arul stays in Hosur with his wife and two kids, but he has agricultural land in Tiruvannamalai, so it is not true that he has no stake here. Secondly, since he had participated in the eight-land expressway project, the farmers of Thethurai, Nedungal (who are protesting against the Melma-SIPCOT project), approached him seeking his assistance, and hence he participated in the protest,” Soudar told indianexpress.com

“There is no ‘instigation factor’ here as the government has claimed. Minister E V Velu has a personal grudge against Arul, and the statement by the government is nothing but a drama. We are exploring all legal options; we will provide all evidence to prove that Arul did not instigate the issue,” Soundar added.