Farmers reply 'not for sale' to Centre's PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme payout

Backlash on Jio grows, cutting off power supply to the company’s cellphone towers and public announcements in villages of Punjab

Two protesting farmers watch Modi’s address on TV at the Ghazipur border in New Delhi on Friday : Prem Singh

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Anita Joshua   |   TT   |   New Delhi   |   26.12.20  :  The Centre’s decision to make a big “song and dance” about the payment of the seventh instalment of a farm scheme on Friday appears to have further strengthened the resolve of the protesting farmers to stay the course — all hurdles created by the State, the bitter cold and other difficulties notwithstanding.

The day not only saw a bigger mobilisation at the Ghaziabad border of Delhi with farmers from Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh breaking down barricades to proceed further. The cultivators also responded to Friday’s payout of Rs 2,000 for all those in the farming community registered for the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme with the “FarmersNotOnSale” hashtag on social media.

Also, the boycott of the Mukesh Ambani-owned Jio is gathering steam with farmers now cutting off power supply to the company’s cellphone towers and public announcements in villages of Punjab urging people to port their connections to other telecom service providers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi heard an echo of the protests in person during a programme organised at the Central Hall of Parliament to mark the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee when two AAP MPs began shouting slogans in support of the farmers.

During the day, the farmers who had left Nasik earlier this week to join the protests reached Shahjahanpur on the Jaipur-Delhi highway near the Haryana border and created a Maharashtra flank of the ongoing agitation to counter the government’s claim that the movement was limited to only Punjab and Haryana.

In a statement, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which had given the call for “Dilli Chalo” on November 26 and 27, accused the government of deliberately “not reading” their demand for the repeal of the three farm laws and withdrawal of the Electricity Bill, 2020, that plans to reduce subsidies.

The AIKSCC has given a call for observing Saturday as “Dhikkar Diwas” and boycott of Ambani and Adani products and services on the premise that the three new laws are aimed at helping corporates who have been the biggest donors to the BJP.

The AIKSCC also made it clear that the farmers are in no hurry to show the government that its tactic to tire them down will not work. Many farmers have said that they have been hardened by farming, which has also taught them patience.

About the claims made by Modi in his address to selected farmers from six states, the AIKSCC’s Avik Saha said: “It was a fusion of false, fake and fabricated news.”

Modi told the farmers that the government was ready for talks with “an open heart”, yet again defended the farm laws and accused the Opposition of misleading the peasants for “political reasons”. (See Page 4)

Taking a dig at Modi for talking to farmers from different states while ignoring those sitting at Delhi’s door with their demands, Saha said: “He has taken a decision to selectively play Prime Minister to whoever he wants.”

On the PM-Kisan scheme, announced in February 2019 and given retrospective effect from December 2018, Saha said: “Why the Prime Minister chose to make such a song and dance about this scheme which has been going on for a long time is for everyone to see.”

The unkindest cut, according to the AIKSCC, is the Prime Minister’s claim that the protesting farmers are shifting the goalposts when their demand has all along been the repeal of the three laws and a legislation to guarantee minimum support price, which Modi had himself demanded as chief minister.

Likewise, defence minister Rajnath Singh’s suggestion to try out the laws for a couple of years was rejected on the ground that it would disrupt the sector no end and there would be no way of return. “The impact of the law is already predictable and known. What is there to wait for when the crisis is already so acute for farmers?” said another farmer union leader.