A silent rift has began to seem within the farmers’ protest at Delhi borders in opposition to the three contentious farm legal guidelines that have been handed by the Central authorities in September final yr.
Sources claimed that farm labourers’ unions are sad with the response of farmer unions over the difficulty of alleged discrimination in opposition to farm labourers in Punjab. Some labour unions have claimed that some farmers and villages in Punjab have been fixing labour costs for paddy sowing arbitrarily in “a self-styled method”.
“There are some instances which have come to our data thus far. There’s a must take a strict stand in opposition to any village that has determined to repair paddy sowing costs with out session with farm labourers first. These villages go to the extent of passing resolutions to boycott any farmer or labourer who doesn’t abide by their paddy sowing costs. That is financial discrimination in opposition to farm labourers, who’re poor,” stated Lachman Singh of Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, which is intently related to the Bhartiya Kisan Union Ugrahan.
Singh added that the farmer and the labourer unions have been on the identical web page when it got here to the three contentious farm legal guidelines, because it affected them equally. However when it got here to highlighting problems with discrimination, then their voices had began to barely differ.
“Farmers and labourers are each on the identical web page in protesting in opposition to the three contentious farm legal guidelines. Nonetheless, in the case of the side of equality between the farmers and labourers, there’s nonetheless a protracted technique to go. There are large landlords concerned who’re pushing for anti-farm labour resolutions.”
Earlier this week, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) had issued an announcement in opposition to such ‘discriminatory’ resolutions handed by any panchayat.
“We have now issued an announcement in opposition to such discriminatory resolutions. We’re all for the unity of farmers and labourers. We have now to struggle in opposition to the Central authorities collectively. We have now requested villagers to settle the difficulty of paddy sowing labour costs by holding talks with labourers,” stated Jagmohan Singh.
Nonetheless, Bhagwant Singh Samaon of Punjab Mazdoor Mukti Morcha accused the farmer unions of not doing sufficient to both spotlight or finish the alleged caste discrimination.
Samaon stated, “I’m not happy with SKM assertion. They need to have given a name to boycott any village or farmer who handed such anti-labourer decision. However farmer unions will not be taking this concern up critically. Everyone knows that Bhartiya Janta Get together has been working very arduous to make inroads in Punjab and is specializing in Dalit farm labourers. We have now seen how there are common makes an attempt to use the variations between farmers and labourers for political achieve. Our organisation helps farm agitation. However the farmer unions too ought to concentrate on labour legal guidelines.”
