Why drag farmers in Newsclick FIR, asks Samyukt Kisan Morcha; threatens protest

Mumbai: Irked by allegations levelled against the farmers’ movement by the Delhi Police in the FIR against media house Newsclick, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha has threatened nationwide protests targeting the central government, here on Monday.

SKM leader Dr. Ashok Dhawale said they categorically rejected all the allegations made vis-a-vis farmers’ stir as they are “false and motivated”, and termed it as a renewed attack by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government against the farmers.

“The farmers’ protest was peaceful and directed against the three (former) farm bills and not aimed at ‘disrupting supplies and essential services’ abet damage and destruction of property, loss to the Indian economy, created internal law and order problems through illegal foreign funding’, etc, as alleged in the Delhi Police FIR,” said Dr. Dhawale.

On the contrary, the Centre has used might to stop the farmers from exercising their democratic right of reaching New Delhi through barbed wire-fencing, water cannons, caning or digging up the roads, he pointed out.

Due to the government’s attitude, the farmers had to sit in protest for 13 months under the blazing sun, torrential rains and freezing winter cold, and the BJP-government created law and order issues by mowing down four farmers and one journalist in Lakhimpur Kheri under running vehicles, the SKM leader added.

“The Union MoS Home and his son were behind that attack, but till now Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not removed the Minister or ensured legal action against the culprits. A total 735 farmers had to sacrifice their lives during the 13-month agitation to counter the repression of the Centre,” said Dr. Dhawale.

He said the SKM strongly denounces the government’s attempts to downplay the importance of the historic farmers’ movement, dubbing them as terrorists though they were only protesting the attempts to hand over the farming sector to big corporates and foreign companies, and warned of fresh nationwide protests.

IANS