NEW DELHI: Just over two years ago,
farmer unions
who had been protesting at
Delhi borders
for nearly 16 months, finally called off their stir after Modi government withdrew the three controversial
farm laws
. The same farmer alliances, with new permutations and combinations, have now called for another "
Dilli Chalo
" march on February 13 to press for their remaining demands, reviving memories of the agitation that drew widespread attention.
Fearing a repeat of the 2020 march, Delhi Police are also not taking any chances this time. The national capital has been turned into a fortress with its borders being intensified with multi-layer barricades, concrete blocks, iron nails and walls of containers to stop the
protesting farmers
.
Meanwhile, two Union ministers held extensive discussions with farmers, who are demanding a legal guarantee for MSP among other things, on Monday night. However, the talks remained inconclusive, paving way for a Dilli Chalo 2.0.
Here's who is leading Dilli Chalo 2.0
SKM (Non political)
- Farm organisation BKU (Ekta Sidhupur), led by Jagjit Singh Dallewal, took along smaller groups and formed a parallel organisation, SKM (Non-Political) Also has farm groups from Haryana, Rajasthan, MP
- It joined hands with Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and held rallies in Amritsar and Barnala with the call for 'Dilli Chalo 2.0'
Kisan mazdoor morcha
- Another farmer block was formed with 18 farmer groups. With more farmer groups coming together, this block was renamed as Kisan Mazdoor Morcha
- Convener | Punjab-based Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee leader Sarvan Singh Pandher Has farm groups from | Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP and MP It has decided to align with SKM (Non-Political)
No involvement in Delhi Chalo 2.0
Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM)
- It has stayed intact, but witnessed several splits. Balbir Singh Rajewal and Jagjit Singh Dallewal formed other groups, but Rajewal with four other groups returned to SKM on Jan 15
- SKM led marches across Punjab on Jan 26 and has given a call for a Grameen Bharat Bandh on Feb 16
Other groups
- BKU (Rajewal), All India Kisan Federation, Kisan Sangharsh Committee Punjab, BKU (Mansa) and Azad Kisan Sangharsh Committee formed an entity after the 2022 polls
- They have joined SKM Split in biggest group
- Punjab's biggest farmer group, BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), saw a split when senior leader Jaswinder Singh Longowal formed BKU (Ekta Azad)
- This outfit has joined hands with KMSC to join the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha
- Split in BKU (Ekta Dakaunda) The group has split into two parallel outfits: BKU (Ekta Dakaunda) continues to be headed by Buta Singh Burjgill Ekta Dakaunda (Manjit Dhaner) with Manjit Singh Dhaner as its president
Besides a legal guarantee for MSP, the farmers are also demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pensions for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstate the Land Acquisition Act 2013, withdrawal from the World Trade Organization, compensation for families of farmers died during the previous agitation, among others.While a consensus has been reached on most issues, like compensation and withdrawal of cases, a formula has been proposed to arrive at a consensus on the remaining demands.
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