NEW DELHI: Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leader Rakesh Tikait on Monday urged farmers’ groups to unite for a joint fight, saying, “Batoge toh lutoge, sabko ikkhate rehna padega,” as Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal‘s fast-unto-death entered its 21st day. Tikait expressed deep concern over Dallewal’s health, as the 70-year-old cancer patient continues his protest at the Khanauri border between Punjab and Haryana.
Dallewal began his fast on November 26, demanding a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) on crops and other farmer-related reforms.
Farmers on Monday from various parts of Haryana, including Ambala, Sonipat, and Hisar, took part in tractor marches in support of the ongoing protest at Khanauri and Shambhu border points. They raised slogans against the central government and burned effigies in solidarity with the farmers’ demands.
In an effort to intensify the protest, Punjab farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher announced that a tractor march would be held outside Punjab on December 16, followed by a ‘rail roko’ protest in Punjab on December 18, from 12 pm to 3 pm.
Pandher also reached out to the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, urging them to join the farmers’ cause at the Punjab-Haryana borders. “We have extended our hands to those brothers who could not participate in the Delhi Andolan-2. We asked them to forget differences in the interests of farmers and labourers,” Pandher said.
Responding to the appeal, Tikait, also the national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, stressed the need for farmers’ groups to unite, saying, “We have been saying for the past six to ten months that all should sit together and talk.”
Tikait also criticised the central government for its policies, claiming that it is pro-capitalist and aiming to trap farmers in debt. He dismissed claims by the Haryana government of providing MSP on 24 crops, calling them “lies.”
He emphasised that individual farmer protests, such as the Delhi Chalo march by groups from Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, would not be successful unless all farmer unions joined forces.
The ongoing agitation at Khanauri and Shambhu border points is being led by SKM (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, with farmers continuing their protest since February 13 after their march to Delhi was halted by security forces. The demands include a legal guarantee for MSP and the implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report.
Meanwhile, farmers affiliated with the Bharatiya Kisan Naujawan Union held tractor marches in Sonipat and Panipat, while protestors in Ambala City raised slogans and burned effigies of the government. Farmers in Hisar gathered at Ramayan Toll Plaza and proceeded towards Hansi in a show of solidarity.
Tikait confirmed that a committee has been formed to communicate with various farmer groups and devise a strategy for the future course of the agitation. “A strategy will be devised on the future course of action,” he said.