Kisan Mukti Yatra Enters Bihar, Activists Welcome it With Open Arms

The Eastern leg of the Kisan Mukti Yatra entered into Bihar on Thursday after journeying through West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand. The yatra, throughout its long way, was embraced by different sections of society including peasants, agricultural workers, trade unionists, Adivasis and Dalits.

On reaching Bihar, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, the 97-year-old leader of the Left movement in the State, welcomed the Yatra. The longtime Bihar Secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist), Vidyarthi, greeted the different peasant organisations which are fighting unitedly, and reminded that in 1936 when the All India Kisan Sabha was formed it was envisaged as a united body of struggling Peasantry.

“The land struggles and martyrdom of comrades in the course of Peasants' movement shall always be an inspiration”, he said. “The unity built will be the harbinger of good news for the people of the country as it will uproot the Communal RSS-BJP and defeat their divisive agenda as well as resist the Neo-Liberal Economic Policies”, he added.

Earlier on November 1, the Yatra was given a rousing reception at Netaji Subhash Chowk in Ramgarh, Jharkhand. Following the floral tributes to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, a mass gathering was conducted there. Hannan Mollah (General Secretary of All India Kisan Sabha) along with Rajaram Singh (General Secretary of All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha), Dr.Sunilam (Convener of NAPM), Avik Saha (convener of Jai Kisan Andolan) and Prahlad Ingole ( Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatan) addressed the gathering.

Addressing a public meeting at Koderma in Jharkhand, Hannan Mollah criticized the BJP-led Centre’s policies which betray the farmers in the country. The present unity built in the form of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) was unprecedented and will defeat the anti-people economic policies and divisive politics of the BJP-led Central Government, Hannan Mollah added.

He also pointed out, while Centre announced RS.1550/Quintal of paddy there was no procurement and added that the Left Democratic Front Government in Kerala was procuring paddy at a record RS.2,300/quintal which is an example to be followed.

The primary motive behind the formation of AIKSCC was to protest against the betrayal and the killing of six farmers in police firing at Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh. To fight for the rights of farmers and agricultural workers, 182 organisations came together under the platform AIKSCC.

While addressing the gathering, Dr.Sunilam of NAPM said that the Raghubar Das-led BJP Government in Jharkhand is working in favour of the land mafia and mining lobby. The move to pass Land Acquisition Act of 2017 and the Mining Momentum was a step in that direction, he said. While corporate companies were given concessions over Rs.14 lakh crores the BJP Government was refusing to waive loans of farmers, he added.

Rajaram Singh also spoke on the occasion and called upon people to unite against the communal forces and Neo-Liberal Economic policies. He observed that the farmers’ suicides and hunger deaths were increasing in Jharkhand under BJP rule.

Addressing the issues of farmers and agricultural workers, the Yatra will be covering different regions of Bihar till November 5. This Yatra is scheduled to culminate with a mega rally (Kisan Sansad), with the participation of farmers from every nook and corner of the country, at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on November 20, 2017.