Modi Govt Unleashes Police Brutality on Protesting Farmers
Farmers fear that these laws will deprive them of their farming rights and they will lose their lands which will be grabbed by Modi’s capitalist friends.
By Rakesh Raman
Hundreds of thousands of farmers – mainly from Punjab – faced teargas and water cannons while coming to New Delhi to hold their planned demonstrations on November 26-27 against the Indian government headed by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi.
Police and security forces of the Modi government blocked all the entry routes to Delhi and used force against farmers when they tried to pass through Haryana, an Indian state ruled by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Farmers are participating in a 2-day “Delhi Chalo” protest march against contentious farm laws introduced by the Modi government in September. Although Punjab farmers have been protesting in different parts of the state for the past 2 months, the Modi government did not address their demands.
While it was supposed to be an all-India protest, in the absence of sufficient participation from other states, the Punjab farmers are coming to Delhi, although they have not been given permission to enter the national capital.
In a warning message, Delhi Police – which is controlled by the Modi government– has denied permission to farmers with the excuse that the farmers’ gathering will spread coronavirus in Delhi.
The protesters argue that the Modi government is using the coronavirus cover to suppress dissent while the government has completely failed to contain the contagion which is spreading rapidly in the entire country.
While there is hardly any attempt by the government to enforce coronavirus restrictions such as safe distancing and wearing of masks, ironically the government becomes very strict about coronavirus when it has to stop street demonstrations by peaceful protesters.
It is being seen that Modi is introducing anti-people laws during the coronavirus pandemic when people are not allowed to come on streets to protest against the government.
Earlier, the Modi government had used Delhi Police to impose coronavirus restrictions on protesters who were protesting in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC), and National Population Register (NPR) announced by the Modi government.
The Shaheen Bagh protest had ended abruptly in March this year (2020). Similarly, the Modi government is trying to scuttle farmers’ protest under the pretext of coronavirus.
Of late, the Modi government has passed 3 connected Bills to make them laws. These are: the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill.
Currently, farmers in India are protesting against the Modi government and the new laws. Farmers fear that these laws will deprive them of their farming rights and they will lose their lands which will be grabbed by Modi’s capitalist friends.
Although farmers across the nation oppose Modi government’s decision, the epicenter of the movement is Punjab which contributes the lion’s share to the Indian agriculture sector.
The Modi government has refused to withdraw the farm laws and Modi has baselessly accused the opposition parties of misleading farmers who are protesting against these laws.
While the Modi government is not expected to budge, the farmers have decided to stay united in their fight against three farm laws and the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020 proposed by the government.
Farmers belonging to nearly 250 farm organizations are expected to continue their struggle under the banner of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) which is an umbrella organization representing millions of farmers.
#AIKSCC wrote to PM
PM responded with:
Police
Arrests
Detention
Barricades
Barbed Wire
Water Canon
Brutal RepressionFarmers will lift 1 finger & decimate & send PM to oblivion
That’s power of Constitutional Democracy!
Happy CONSTITUTION DAY to all Farmers!!@kkuruganti pic.twitter.com/YjzHTdDblg
— All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (@aikscc) November 25, 2020
In a tweet, AIKSCC said that in response to its representation, “PM Modi responded with Police, Arrests, Detention, Barricades, Barbed Wire, Water Canon, and Brutal Repression.”
The ongoing protests are against the farm laws. But in the absence of any political opposition to the Modi government and to stop Modi’s autocratic strides, people expect the farmer unions to play the role of the main opposition.
Farmers can lead the struggle to restore democratic culture in the country which is reeling under unemployment, sickness, corruption, and lawlessness inflicted by the Modi government.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
