How Mandsaur farmer stir was run on WhatsApp
FARMERS’ PROTEST Chouhan says he won’t eat ‘till peace is restored’ in the state, Cong denounces it as a ‘Kejriwallike drama’
“Attention, attention… We have not struck any compromise with the government,” read a WhatsApp message circulating among Madhya Pradesh’s farmers in the first week of June. “There is nothing to compromise on... our demands are clear.”
Days later, on June 6, western MP exploded. Five farmers were killed in Mandsaur in police firing while one of the injured died on Friday. Violent protests have erupted in other districts of the state. The ruling BJP and chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan have accused the opposition of orchestrating the violence. But the unrest roiling the region is the work of young, tech-savvy farmers coordinating their actions over WhatsApp groups.
“We have no leaders. Leaders can be intimidated or compromised,” said a farmer who participated in the unrest. “No one tells us, ‘do this’. Our friends only say ‘We are doing this’, and we decide if we want to participate.”
The implications of this were evident in MP where farmers separated by thousands of kilometres received messages announcing a protest from June 1. Several unions joined once the agitation began, but when the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s Bharat Kisan Sangh, and a smaller group called the Kisan Sena, struck a compromise deal with the government, the movement gathered steam. “Who is the Kisan Sena to strike a compromise on behalf of MP’s farmers?” asked another WhatsApp message.
BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan began an indefinite fast on Saturday ‘till peace is restored in the state’ but that did not stop the Opposition Congress from mounting an offensive against his government.
Starting his fast from capital Bhopal, Chouhan said he was anguished by the violence in the state during the farmers’ agitation. Without naming the Congress, the CM said he was pained when he heard slogans like ‘thaane mein aag laga do’ (set the police station on fire) and ‘patthar maro’ (pelt stones) being shouted during the protests.
The chief minister’s decision to sit on a fast comes against the backdrop of widespread violence in the state and the killing of five farmers in Mandsaur during police firing.
Describing the farmers’ deaths as an unfortunate incident, Chouhan said he would order an inquiry to identify the culprits behind Mandsaur violence. “Those who spread violence during the agitation will not be spared,” he warned.
The senior BJP leader also announced the constitution of a commission to assess input costs of agriculture produce and interacted with a few farmers.
However, the CM’s efforts to pacify the protesters were marred by his agriculture minister Gaurishankar Bisen’s remark that the MP government could not accept farmers’ demands to waive off loans as it did not charge them any interest.
The Congress was quick to train guns on Chouhan, denouncing his indefinite fast as a ‘Kejriwal-like drama’.
Senior Congress leader and Guna MP, Jyotiraditya Scindia, announced to observe a 72-hour ‘Satyagrah’ from June 14 in Bhopal. Leader of Opposition in state’s legislative assembly, Ajay
Singh, demanded imposition of President’s rule in Madhya Pradesh. He said time had come for the CM to take ‘sanyas’ (leave) from politics.
“Those supporting Godse’s ideology are now indulging in drama of being Gandhians”, Singh added.
Congress workers in Indore and Bhopal performed ‘sadbuddhi yajnas’ for the chief minister. Congress members, led by MLA Girish Bhandari, staged a chakka jam at Narsinghgarh on RajgarhNarsinghgarh highway leading to a two-hour long traffic jam. In Burhanpur, a group of Congress supporters got tonsured to protest against farmers’ killings. A number of Congress workers were also detained by the police.
No major violence was reported from any part of the state on Saturday and curfew was lifted in three police station areas of violence-hit Mandsaur.