Farmers observe Jan 31 as ‘Vishwasghat Diwas’, accuse Centre of betraying them

PTI, Feb 1, 2022, 10:22 AM IST

Jaipur: Farmers held protests in different parts of the country on Monday as part of their observance of ‘Vishwasghat Diwas’, accusing the Union government of betraying them over various farm issues.

The call for a nationwide observance of ‘Betrayal Day’ was given by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday.

He alleged that the over-year-long agitation of farmers at Delhi’s borders was suspended on basis of a letter given by the government on December 9, but those promises have not been fulfilled.

In Rajasthan, farmers held protests at several district headquarters and major towns, including Jaipur. Farmers held a demonstration at Shaheed Smarak in the state capital and burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In Sikar, former CPI(M) MLA and farmer leader Amra Ram led the protest and accused the Union government of not taking any step following the ”agreement” with the farmers.

In Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad, farmers gathered at the local collectorate and handed over a memorandum to the administration, BKU’s district president Bijendra Singh told PTI.

Addressing the protesters, he said the government has not yet fulfilled various demands of the farmers, including about minimum support price for crops even though their protest was suspended over a month ago. The cases lodged against agitating farmers have not been withdrawn and the Uttar Pradesh government was not paying attention to the demand of martyr status to farmers who died during the agitation, Singh added.

The protest on Delhi’s borders had started under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, a farmers’ collective, in November 2020 over the main demands of withdrawal of three contentious farm laws that were introduced by the BJP-led Centre. The farmers, who occupied key border points of Singhu, Tikri, and Ghazipur for over a year, also demanded a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) of crops.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in November 2021 announced that the contentious farm laws would be rolled back, leading to the protestors eventually vacating Delhi borders in December.