Oppn rallies behind farmers

Ravi S Singh
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 30

Leaders of Opposition parties, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, today used the second day of the farmers’ protest as a platform to demonstrate unity against the BJP as they underscored the need to oust the Narendra Modi government in 2019 to “protect farmers’ interest”.

Earlier, the farmers took out a march from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street, where it ended in a rally — culmination of a two-day national protest by farmers affiliated with 209 organisations. The farmers are demanding laws to ensure remunerative MSP in line with recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission and to secure them from indebtedness.

At the rally, Gandhi pledged to work with other Opposition leaders to build a strong fulcrum, especially for farmers, to ensure their progress and welfare. “In spite of our ideological differences, we have come here for farmers,” Gandhi said.

Gandhi, who shared the podium with Modi-baiters, including AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal and Gujarat Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani, said Modi was oriented in favour of corporate houses at the cost of farmers.

He castigated Modi for not fulfilling the promise of remunerative MSP and loan waiver to farmers, made during the 2014 election. “If Rs 3.5 lakh crore of bad loans of corporate houses can be written off, so can the loans of farmers,” Gandhi said, stressing that farmers and youth constituted India’s backbone.

He said if chief ministers or the Prime Minister needed to be changed to protect farmers’ interest, it must be done.

CPM’s Sitaram Yechury urged farmers to use the ballot to dislodge the BJP-led NDA government. Kejriwal said the Centre’s Kisan Fasal Bima Yojana was a misnomer, while former Jammu and Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah flayed the BJP for its politics of communalism.

Sharad Pawar, Sharad Yadav, Yogendra Yadav and leaders of RLD and SP also addressed the rally.