Farmers’ strike ends without incident

THE 10DAY VILLAGE SHUTDOWN STIR, ACCORDING TO POLICE OFFICIALS, WAS LARGELY PEACEFUL EXCEPT FOR A FEW STRAY INCIDENTS

BHOPAL: The 10-day farmers agitation in the state ended on Sunday with no untoward incident reported, police said.

A group of farmers, under the banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, got themselves tonsured in Misrod area of Bhopal and performed a ‘havan’. They also fed cows vegetables to register their protest against poor prices of agriculture produce in the state.

Anil Yadav, general secretary of the union’s state unit said that since the government was no more for the farmers, they performed the religious ritual.

“...the government is working against farmers and adopting anti-farmers policies”, he added.

He said the farmers agitation was not done.

“It’s just a phase of agitation which is over. We will think of the future course of action”, he added.

Meanwhile, Hardik Patel, national president of the Kisan Kranti Sena said in Indore on Sunday that chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s statement that the farmers agitation was a flop was unfortunate. “Is the farmers agitation a success in the CM’S eyes only when there is a chaotic scene”, he asked.

He said he would undertake a 17-day Janjagriti yatra in Madhya Pradesh in Malwa-nimad region. During the period there would be four public meetings in different districts.

Shiv Kumar Sharma, chief of the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Mahasangh, which spearheaded the stir, called the agitation a success and alleged that the entire state machinery, including police, was ensuring that fresh farm produce was being made available to citizens.

“I will thank the BJP and the administration that they did not activate anti-social elements to spoil our peaceful agitation. We had only given a call of gaon bandh ( village shutdown),” Sharma said

The 10-day village shutdown stir, according to police officials, was largely peaceful except stray incidents of protesting farmers throwing vegetables and pouring milk on the streets.

Terming the agitation a failure, state BJP spokesperson Rajnish Agrawal said, “Farmers did not participate in this agitation despite being instigating by so-called organisations.”

“The farmers have faith in Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the BJP due to the welfare schemes introduced by the state government,” he added.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi also visited Mandsaur on June 6, on the first anniversary of the farmers’ deaths.