Punjab farmers split on stir

Bhartiya Kisan Union’s Punjab unit president Balbir Singh Rajewal said they supported the agitation because input cost had increased manifold for farmers but they were not getting reasonable prices for their produce.

Eight farmer outfits in Punjab, which have considerable support base in the state, have decided not to take part in the country-wide protest planned from June 1 to 10 during which farmers have vowed not to supply milk and vegetables to cities.

While the stir is backed by Bharitiya Kisan Union (BKU) Rajewal, BKU Lakhowal and BKU Sidhupur, all three from Punjab, the outfits that have decided to stay away are: Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan), Bhartiya Kisan Union Ekta (Dakunda), Punjab Kisan Sabha, Punjab Kisan Union, Jai Kisan Andolan, Azad Kisan Sangharsh Committee, Krantikari Kisan Union and Kirti Kisan Union. Talking to The Indian Express, Baldev Singh Kokrikalan, general secretary of BKU Ugrahan, said, “Our organisation is neither supporting nor opposing it because we feel this 10-day protest would further worsen the condition of poor farmers if they were not able to sell their produce. There are not many buyers in villages, and that is why they come to sell these to cities.”

“We have asked the protesting outfits to tell us how to manage perishable items like milk and vegetables. They could not convince us and we decided not to participate in it,” he said. Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of BKU Dakunda, said though his outfit was not joining the stir, they would oppose any coercive measures by the government to quell the protests.

However, BKU’s Punjab unit president Balbir Singh Rajewal said they supported the agitation because input cost had increased manifold for farmers but they were not getting reasonable prices for their produce. “Recently, diesel prices have shot up, which has put extra burden on farmers using tractors to cultivate their land,” he said.