Peasant leaders raised a war cry against the BJP in a rally in which they also called for Hindu-Muslim unity in this western city of the UP on Sunday, but many of its listeners who Hinduism he spoke for not having given up the party. Union leader Bharatiya Kisan (BKU) Rakesh Tikait called for the removal of Yogi Adityanath’s government in next year’s Assembly elections in UP
Part of the farmers want to punish the BJP for the three agricultural laws at the center of the controversy.
“The BJP tricked us in the last election, raising the issue of Pulwama and talking about national interest. First I am a farmer, second Jat and then only Hindu. The interests of farmers are national interests,” said Birender Singh, owner of three hectares of land in the Bulandshahr district.
The chanting of religious slogans by both Hindus and Muslims during the rally was widely seen as an attempt to win over a large number of Muslim farmers who broke away from the BKU, after community tensions rose in the region in recent years. . Mannan Balyan, a Balyan Khap Muslim who is also the leader of the Azad Samaj party, insisted that “Muslim farmers were always with the BKU, it was the Jat farmers who separated …”
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The Jats aligned with the BJP in the last election. Balyan estimates that 60% of Jat farmers may be upset with the BJP, but the rest remain allied with the party.
Digpal Singh, an old Aligarh farmer with two acres of land, said he had seen through the BJP. “It’s sad that we only realized this when we were fooled by agricultural laws and the rising cost of entry that threatens to take our children out of agriculture.”
Now, he said, there is an attempt to keep farm workers away from landlords by distributing free rations. “This new attempt to divide society could have dangerous repercussions in the long run,” he said.
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There are others who were willing to give the BJP another chance given its nationalist agenda and its ability to keep “Muslims in control”.
“We haven’t had any problems with yogurt. With the Taliban raising their heads in the neighborhood, we need a strong government in the state, ”said Ranvir Singh, a Bulandshahr farmer. He was confident that with the increased pressure, the state government would raise sugar cane prices, but wondered if it would be enough given the high rise in input costs.
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“If Modiji still listens to us, we will vote for him again. But if not, we will vote for whoever listens to our demands or the farmers will run in the elections ourselves, ”said Rishipal Singh of Aligarh.
Tikait’s highlighting of issues such as pensions for teachers and police, as well as permanent positions for sanitation workers, was also seen as an attempt to cross not only religious but also caste and social barriers. The ASP, led by Bhim Chandrasekhar Azad’s army chief and who has been courting Dalit votes, backed Sunday’s mahapanchayat.
Several farmers who Hinduism It was clearly spoken that they support the BKU for the problems of farmers, but perhaps this does not extend to electoral policy. “By the time the BKU makes a decision on direct political participation, not only will the movement stop, the Tikaits will face a revolt in the villages,” said a senior Rashtriya Lok Dal leader requesting the anonymity.