India’s farmers are not in the mood to fold up their more than nine month agitation, which has acquired a larger purpose – the ouster of Narendra Modi from ‘Dilli’s gaddi’. Enough of the cat-footing, and the street skirmishes; the time’s now come to galvanise the Opposition with more such ‘kisan mahapanchayats’ across the country. The September 5 Muzaffarnagar ‘kisan mahapanchayat’ was followed by one in Karnal, Haryana, on September 7.That the Centre and the BJP-ruled states are rattled can be gauged from the fact that Karnal looked like a garrison town on September 7, with streets and roads barricaded, and the police at every nook and corner. The administration went to the extent of shutting down Internet services in not just Karnal but also in the neighbouring Kaithal and Jind.The farmers, who gathered at the Karnall anaj mandi, have made several demands of the state government including action against policemen who had lathi-charged farmers a few days ago, injuring several farmers. One farmer had died allegedly from injuries sustained to the head. Karnal is Chief Minister Manoharlal Khattar’s assembly constituency.With the Muzaffarnagar show of strength rated a grand victory, the bugle has been sounded on the BJP in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. And following the “runaway success” of the ‘kisan mahapanchayat’, opposition political parties of Uttar Pradesh have upped the ante against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his government.
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