The members of the Gujarat Khedut union will continue to hold agitation across Gujarat against three Union farm laws – said Jayesh Patel, Farmer president and president of Gujarat Khedut Samaj.
“We will respond to the call for action, as and when it comes from Delhi,” Patel said. The Khedut Samaj had responded to the Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s (SKM) – a united forum of farmer unions protesting the three farm laws — call for a Bharat Bandh on September 27. “Around 2,000 participating farmers were detained in Gujarat,” Patel said, adding, “Our agitation will continue will complete zest and sincerity.”
Khedut Samaj has been part of the nationwide farmers’ agitation since November 2020. In Gujarat – especially in parts of North and South, the protest has gained steam over the months. Patel echoed the SKM’s response to Bharat Bandh, stating it as a “success” and largely “voluntary in nature”.
Meanwhile, the farmers who are a part of SKM said they are planning more such events for the near future. “The Bharath Bandh on September 27 was a success as almost all states participated, and not just in a symbolic manner. These three farm laws are death warrant against farmers across India and we will not stop our movement until the warrant is repealed,” Harinder Singh, a PhD scholar and a member of SKM, who has been part of the crowd of farmers at the Delhi-NCR border since last year, said.
“This a fight against the corporate lobby across the country and we are in for a long haul,” Singh said. Harinder said the three farm laws will affect the country’s Public Distribution System. “Recently in Haryana, the government allowed the private mandis to directly source mustard oil from the farmers. A few weeks later, the Haryana government issued a notification stating that the government not be giving mustard oil as part of its food security system as it had no stock. If this model is replicated all across the country, the food security system will be directly hit and grains might be replaced with monetary compensation. A private monopoly will make buying raw food expensive. Monetary compensation will not be able to achieve the purpose of PDS,” he said.
