Farm unions in UP plan fasting & messages for ministers in renewed bid to repeal farm laws

As the farmers' protest enters the 90th day, the Uttar Pradesh Kisan Morcha on Tuesday declared that a village-level agitation across the state will be launched from March 1. Even as many big names not just from India but the world were highlighted in the protests, the farmers' unions have now decided that messages will be recorded every day that will be sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding the repeal of the 3 farm laws.

The Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sanghatan (RKMS) that joined 21 other farmer unions to form the Uttar Pradesh Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (UPKMM) told ANI "This new movement will start from March 1, where five people from each village will observe fast every day and record messages to be sent to PM Narendra Modi every two minutes."

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The UPKMM said, "Even if 500 villages are covered in one district, then 5000 men will let the Prime Minister know through the website the voices of the farmers. This will be done to unite the villages." At least 24 farmers' organisations in Uttar Pradesh were involved in meetings to form the UPKMM that comprises 22 farmer outfits.

One of the major farmers' unions— RKMS, had sidelined itself from the agitation after the Republic Day tractor rally where agrarians breached barricades and clashed with police in New Delhi. The leader of RKMS, V M Singh however has now said that "We did not leave the movement, we were against the ways in which the protests turned violent. I had said that we will come back with a new movement and today we are back after a month."

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The RKMS lead Singh also said that the messages will also be sent to those who claim that the farmers' protests are driven by vested interests. "The ministers say that there are no farmers in the protest but when the farmers will send their message from their villages, they will understand that the protest is genuine and that the rights of the farmers should be guaranteed," Singh added.

Singh further wished luck to the farmers sitting at the Ghazipur, Singhu, and Tikri border. "We are doing our work but we will be different in the form of agitation," the RKMS lead hinted. He then pointed out that "MSP is our right and the government must give us the guaranteed purchase. Anyone buying for less than what is specified as per MSP, it will be considered an offence," Singh warned.

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