Ongole: Famers determined to continue agitation until govt repeals farm laws

Ongole: Farmers are determined to continue their agitation in Delhi until the Union government leaves stubbornness and recalls the new agriculture laws, said the members of South India team that visited the places where the movement is going on for nearly 100 days.

Speaking at the press meet, the All India Kisan Mazdoor Sangh AP general secretary Chittipati Venkateswarlu, Progressive Organisation for Women AP general secretary B Padma, Progressive Youth League AP assistant secretary N Nagaraju, and others said that to witness the farmers movement and extend their support, they along with a team from South India, from the States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka visited Delhi from February 21 to 28.

They explained that the 130 members South India Team visited Tikri, Shahjahanpur, Ghajipur and Singhu border and interacted with farmers' leaders like Surjit Singh, Yogendra Yadav, Kalu Thori, Sukhdev Singh, Darshan Pal, Kavitha Kuruganti, Harneet Singh and others and also spoke at various daises.

The team members said that the farmers explained to them about the incidents from the beginning of the agitation, the restrictions imposed and oppression used by the government, prolongation of time in the name of discussions, attempts to disturb the harmony between the leaders and various farmers' organisations in the name of caste, religion and regional differences.

They alleged that the Union government is trying to disinvest the public sector undertakings and handover them to the corporate companies at cheap prices, from the very beginning of its tenure. They said that the farmers told them that after the BSNL, Railways, LIC, Postal department, the government eyed on the agriculture and brought the new farm laws to help the corporate sector grab the field from farmers eventually.

The leaders of various organisations said that the farmers are committed to continuing the agitation even though it takes years for the government to repeal the agriculture laws. They said that the farmers said that they won't go home unless the government takes back the new farm laws, reforms in electricity sector bill, provide a constitutional guarantee for minimum support price and implement the Swaminathan Commission recommendations.

They said that the people participating in the agitation are procuring food grains and storing them enough for a year, arranging permanent dining halls and toilets in the area. They alleged that the government is imposing fabricated cases on the people extending support to the farmers by taking false prestige, but not understanding the BJP is losing its ground in villages.

The South India team members said that they were surprised to see the support to the farmers from the neighbouring villagers, supplying milk, vegetables, food grains, and other commodities voluntarily and attending to the needs of all people participating in the movement.

They said that the agitation is not limited to people of one or two States but they observed farmers from all places of the country, including the farmers, farm labour, women, Dalits, Muslims and all other sections in the country.

They added that they are trying to take the farmers' agitation to the villages through meetings, other forms and ignite the spirit in local farmers too.