'Not consulted', Haryana farmer leaders won't be part of Delhi march
Farmers protesting at the Shambhu border are determined to move towards Delhi on December 6. However, some senior farmer leaders of Haryana have decided to stay away from the march.
The farmer leaders said since the demands of all the unions were common and genuine, the government should accept the demands. However, since they were "not approached and consulted" before the call was given, they have no plans to participate in the march.
Taking calls on their own
Since we were not approached and consulted, we have no plans to participate in any march... they (Punjab farmer leaders) have been taking calls on their own, and there will be no interference from our side.
Gurnam Singh Charuni, BKU (Charuni) Chief
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) (non-political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have given the call of Delhi march on December 6.
Bhartiya Kisan Union state president Rattan Mann said: “We have been raising farmer issues along with the SKM, but the agitation at the Shambhu border is being held under the banners of SKM (non-political) and other groups. There has been no decision regarding participating in the march so far as we have not been approached by them. We have been raising farmers issues in Haryana. Coordination between the unions and farmer leaders is very important for such big agitations. If any committee is formed to develop coordination between all the unions, and they take some decisions unitedly, we may take a call on running the agitation together.”
Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) Chief Gurnam Singh Charuni, said “Since we were not approached and consulted, we have no plans to participate in any march so far. We tried to extend our support in the past but the things didn’t go well. They have been taking calls on their own, and there will be no interference from our side. However, since they have been struggling for common issues and raising genuine demands of farmers, the government should accept their demands. Soon we will hold a meeting to discuss and raise some issues being faced by the farmers of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.”
Similarly, Bhartiya Kisan Mazdoor Union president Suresh Koth said: “Our union has been associated with the SKM and we have no role in the agitation at the Shambhu border. We have no plans to participate in the call of Delhi march on December 6.”
Meanwhile, BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh), a union from Haryana, has been actively participating in the ongoing protest since February, and has been inviting Haryana farmers to participate in the march.
Tejveer Singh, spokesman, BKU (SBS), said “We have been protesting for a common cause. We are requesting all the unions and farm activists from Haryana to rise above the unions and groups, and get united to get the demands fulfilled. Several farmer unions from Haryana have been participating actively in the agitation with us and Khap panchayats have also extended their support to march. We are hopeful that farmers and other people from Haryana will extend their support to march in large numbers.”
