UP farmers perform ‘protest asana’
INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY Demanding farm loan waivers and a better price for their yield, farmers across the country performed the corpse pose and blocked highways
BHOPAL/MUMBAI/LUCKNOW: A farm crisis sweeping several states left its mark on the International Yoga Day celebrations on Wednesday as several farmer leaders used the occasion to send a message about the agricultural distress.
Farmers and Madhya Pradesh Congress leaders performed ‘shavasana’ (a corpse pose) in different programmes to protest against CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, whom they hold responsible for the death of five farmers in police firing in Mandsaur.
In Bhopal, a group of farmers under the banner of Bharatiya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh headed by Shivkumar Sharma ‘Kakkaji’ performed shavasana. The farmers accused the government of misleading the farmers and not doing anything for their benefit.
A farmer Ramesh Patel from Raisen district, who participated in Shavasan, said, “Under the leadership of Shivraj Singh Chouhan, farmers are getting a raw deal. Poor policing and wrong policies of state government led to killing of six farmers in Mandsaur, and the same policies are also compelling farmers to commit suicide.”
A farmer from Bhind, Sumer Singh said, “We wanted to make the government understand the plight of farmers. If government doesn’t act properly to help farmers, the farmers will continued to end their life and government will see ‘shav’ (dead body) of farmers everywhere in the state.” Congress national general secretary Digvijaya Singh criticised the state government on twitter. “Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan should be ashamed of him as people are calling him ‘Shavraj’,” Singh tweeted.
In UP where CM Yogi Adityanath approved a loan waiver two months ago, hundreds of farmers blocked roads and highways to perform shavasana.
“We selected ‘shavasana’ because we wanted to show the government that farmers are reduced to a dead body, if they are not treated well in an agriculturebased economy like India. Farmers don’t deserve bullets if they demand good rates for their produce or waiver in loans,” said BKU’s Alok Varma, general secretary.
They demanded adequate rates for their crops, waiver of all loans of marginal farmers and implementation of Swaminathan Commission report. They also sought withdrawal of all cases against farmers, which were lodged against them during the agitation in Mandsaur.
A group of farmers with Bharatiya Kisan Union blocked the traffic on the Delhi- Dehradun highway in Daurala area on Wednesday.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis performed yoga with 600 farmer’s children in state capital Mumbai to drive home a message that farmers, who have been protesting against his government, were not unhappy with him.