Farmers’ attempt to storm Assembly foiled – OTHER STATES – The Hindu

The attempt of farmers agitating for a blanket loan waiver to lay an indefinite siege to the Rajasthan Assembly was foiled here on Thursday with the police stopping them from entering the city and arresting hundreds of them. The crackdown on the farmer leaders continued across the State, while huge demonstrations were staged in several towns.

Farmers marching from Sikar and Jhunjhunu districts of the Shekhawati region staged a sit-in at Tatiawas toll plaza on the outskirts of Jaipur, where they were stopped, and blocked the National Highway-12. The highway outside the Sikar town was also blocked, with hundreds of buses and other vehicles being stuck in a jam for several kilometres.

Prohibitory orders disallowing the assembly of people were enforced in several police station areas of Jaipur city and the district’s boundaries were sealed with the deployment of police and Rajasthan Armed Constabulary personnel.

Flouting the prohibitory orders, a huge public rally was organised outside the Mazdoor Kisan Bhavan, from where the CPI(M) State Committee functions, and the farmers demanded immediate release of their leaders and former MLAs Amra Ram, Pema Ram and Pawan Duggal, who were arrested on Wednesday. The protesters jostled with the policemen and courted arrest when they were prevented from proceeding towards the Assembly.

Addressing the rally, All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) president Ashok Dhawale said the farmers would not cower under the BJP government’s repressive measures and continue their agitation until they get the “legitimate relief”. “This government has stopped the farmers from coming to Jaipur. We will stop the BJP from coming [into power] again,” said Mr. Dhawale.

‘Farmers being misled’

AIKS joint secretary Vijoo Krishnan said the State government was misleading the farmers by claiming that its loan waiver offer was based on the Kerala model. The debt waiver in Kerala was done after enactment of a law and its Debt Relief Commission was given a statutory status, he said, while affirming that the crackdown on farmers amounted to an attack on democracy.

The AIKS has accused the BJP government of dishonesty in its Budgetary announcement of one-time farm loan waiver of Rs. 50,000 each and failure to fulfil its promises made to farmers after their 13-day-long agitation in the Shekhawati region in September last year.

CPI leader Tara Singh Siddhu, CITU leader Ravindra Shukla, Kusum Saiwal of All India Democratic Women’s Association, Gautam Damor of Adiwasi Janadhikar Manch and Basant Hariyana of Rajasthan Nagarik Manch also sought immediate action to meet the demands for debt waiver, remunerative prices for farm produce, pension to farmers and protection against the stray cattle menace.

The Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), led by social activist and Magsaysay Award winner Aruna Roy, extended support to the farmers’ agitation and condemned the State government’s crackdown.