SP shifts focus to farmers, to organise Kisan Ghera daily
LUCKNOW: Putting all other issues on hold for the time being, the Samajwadi Party (SP) has shifted its entire focus to farmers and rural issues. The party, which first organised one-day interactive Kisan Ghera programme across the state on Friday, has now made it a daily affair. Under it, the SP leaders and workers made a circle in various villages across the state and interacted with farmers.
“Earlier our focus was law, order and development. We will come back to those later but for now we are doing daily chaupals with farmers as they are angry,” said an SP MLC after his Sunday’s Kisan Ghera event in a village.
The farmers have been protesting against three new farm laws namely the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 for over a month now.
“Traditionally also, ours is a rural and agriculture-based party. Most of the party workers are also associated with farming and thus the party’s concern over farm issues is natural,” said SP state spokesperson and former minister Rajendra Chaudhary.
“Kisan Ghera event entails SP leaders and workers to sit around bonfires with farmers in a chaupal (village meeting) in the shape of a ring and discuss farm issues and express solidarity with them,” he added. Last week, SP national president Akhilesh Yadav had announced party’s statewide Kisan Ghera programme on December 25—the day PM Narendra Modi was to hold a Kisan Samvad. However, the SP programme has been continuing for the three successive days now. Moreover, the Samajwadi Party had also launched Kisan Yatra on December 7 but suspended it on December 20 as it was non-interactive. Besides, the party also observed former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh’s 118th birth anniversary on December 23 as Kisan Divas across the state.
THE SAMAJWADI PARTY HAD ALSO LAUNCHED KISAN YATRA ON DECEMBER 7 BUT SUSPENDED IT ON DECEMBER 20 AS IT WAS NONINTERACTIVE.