New Delhi:
Several farmer unions from across the country will launch an indefinite agitation against the government’s land ordinance outside Parliament House tomorrow, which will see participation of social activists Anna Hazare and Medha Patkar.
The protest will be held with the slogan of ‘Bhoo Adhigrahan Nahi, Bhoo Adhikar chahiye (We want Land Rights, not Land Acquisition)’ and will coincide with the second day of the Budget Session, Patkar said at a press conference here.
Patkar today also joined Hazare on the first day of his two-day dharna at Jantar Mantar here.
Hazare said several farmer unions are also joining him tomorrow at Jantar Mantar on the second day of his dharna, from where his movement would spread to rest of the country.
“We reject the ordinance which is unacceptable to farmers, farm labourers and all traders, fishermen and others, associated with the occupation and hence it was felt necessary to bring together the agitations going on in different parts of the country,” Patkar said.
Saying that the government was likely to introduce a bill to make the ordinance a law during the Budget Session, the Narmada Bachchao Aandolan activist said, “They might also initiate the process of bringing changes in the Bill, hence on the very first day of the Budget Session, we will make it known that it is unacceptable to us.”
Outrightly rejecting the “government’s bid” to initiate talks with farmers’ unions on the issue, she said any such attempt would be to “sabotage the movement”.
Calling for support from various parties against the ordinance, leaders from left-wing farmer unions said that they had issued an “open letter” to all such outfits on the issue.
“We want to appeal to all political parties not to get trapped in the sinister designs of the BJP government,” said CPI leader and All India Kisan Sabha general secretary Atul Anjan.
Clarifying that the agitation was not an attempt to distance itself from Anna’s dharna, National Alliance for People’s Movement (NAPM) member Ranjit Rafiq said, “He had agreed to support our agitation but when he was coming here, his supporters in Delhi said they too wanted to join him.”
Rafiq said Hazare would join the agitation tomorrow.
Besides, CPI’s All India Kisan Sabha and NAPM, farmer unions like Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan, Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, Kisan Manch, and Patkar-led Narmada Bachao Andolan, among others, would also join the agitation.
In a separate press conference, All India Agricultural Workers Union of CPI(M) also expressed its support to the agitation and demanded a “10 per cent allocation” in the Budget for agriculture.
