After a lull for the past one month, the protest sites at the borders of Delhi have started buzzing with activity once again. Farmers who had returned to their home states during the Rabi harvest season are now being coerced and lied to by the farmers’ unions once again, leading to them returning to Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders in large numbers. This, at a time when the country is gripped with a massive Covid-19 wave, which refuses to die down. Reports have also suggested that due to the misinformed farmers squatting on the borders of Delhi, essential medical oxygen supply to and from the national capital is getting disturbed in a big manner.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) – an umbrella organisation of the main farmers’ unions leading the misinformation campaign against the three revolutionary farm laws passed by the Indian parliament last year has now launched a ‘Phir Delhi Chalo’ campaign, to shore up the numbers of agitators on the borders of Delhi. Over 20,000 protesting farmers are moving towards Tikri Border from different parts of Punjab, thereby blocking the highways. The protesting Kisan Union ‘Ugrahan’, on its part, has given a call to farmers to gather at Tikri Border.
Meanwhile, the SKM, fearing its agitation fizzling out due to many farmers realising the ulterior motives of the union leaders, has also appealed to the migrants returning to their native places not to panic and join their protest. “We will make all arrangements for food and shelter. They must join the common struggle against the Centre,” said SKM leader Darshan Pal. On his part, Captain Amarinder Singh – the Chief Minister of Punjab, amidst the pandemic wreaking havoc in Punjab and ‘farmers’ returning to the protest sites, seems to have abdicated all his responsibility.
Read more: How Congress’ very own farmers’ protests destroyed its biggest leader Amarinder Singh
At a time when the Chief Minister should be making sure that farmers are prevented from going to Delhi due to the pandemic ravaging the country, he seems to be more inclined towards maintaining a stony silence. This tacit approval of the farmers’ moves will cost Captain Amarinder Singh dearly, with less than a year to go before Punjab goes to polls.
At the protest sites, farmers and their leaders consider COVID-19 a ‘fictitious’ entity, and part of the Modi government’s ‘propaganda’ machinery in order to prevent the people of the country from agitating. Speaking to the Republic Media Network, a protestor asserted that coronavirus is a fictitious disease created by the government to fearmonger. “If it was true then people would have died in lakhs. Farmers have been at protests for five months; all would have died. Corona is a conspiracy.” Another agitator said, “There is no Corona here. There are so many people gathering here, we will make Corona go away. We are no scared of Corona.”
Statements like these are testament to the fact that the misinformed farmers do not have the best interests of the people of India at heart and are willing to act as Covid-19 super spreaders only to serve the agenda of the far-left unions leading them.