Farmers to disrupt PM Narendra Modi's Yoga Day, block highways

NEW DELHI: Seeking to deliver a strong message to the Modi government, some farmer organisations have joined hands to organise protests on the Yoga Day promoted by the government on June 21.

Lucknow, which will be the centre of this year's Yoga Day programme with PM Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath participating in the event, is likely to see demonstrations by these outfits.

The farmer agitations, in the news since six farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur, saw an agitation led by Naresh Tikait's Bharatiya Kisan Union at New Delhi's Sansad Marg agitating against what it said were the Modi government's anti-farmer policies on Thursday.

Calling for implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report and for the government to provide remunerative prices to farmers, BKU president Naresh Tikait said the "discontent and unrest" was simmering because the government had ignored the voices of the farmers.

Tikait said BKU, as a mark of protest, will jam highways and organise Yoga sessions on the highways in Uttar Pradesh and in other states on June 21, to highlight the government's inability to solve the agrarian crisis. However, the efficacy of the protests remains to be seen as BKU has been a limited force for some time now.

Thursday's kisan mahapanchayat, supported by Communist Party of India's farmer offshoot All India Kisan Mahasabha, Bandhua Mukti Morcha founder and former Haryana MLA, Swami Agnivesh, Swarajya Abhiyan's Yogendra Yadav, and farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, among others, also criticised the government for supporting corporates, but denying assistance to the crisis-hit farmers.

Farmer leaders who addressed the Kisan Mahapanchayat also alleged that the government's recent announcement of an interest subvention scheme and a short-term loan scheme was farcical because farmers are unable to recover their input costs.