Opinion | Who is misleading Punjab farmers by resorting to false propaganda?
In my prime time show ‘Aaj Ki Baat’ on Tuesday night, farmers from remote areas revealed how Left activists in Punjab went from village to village in recent months and mobilized farmers to join the march to Delhi to demand repeal of the new farm laws. Reporters spoke to Vijender Singh, a farmer from Sangrur, who disclosed how Leftists came to his village and tried to incite farmers in the name of Sikhism and Guru Govind Singh Ji.
The farmer also narrated how Left party workers circulated pictures of elderly Sikh farmers who had died of natural death to tell villagers that they have become martyrs in the Delhi protests. Villagers who object to such fake propaganda are being singled out as ‘qaum ke dushman’ (enemies of nation) and people are being asked to socially boycott such villagers.
I have received videos from several Punjab farmers who wanted to point out how false propaganda is being made in villages by Left workers in the name of farmers’ agitation. These villagers said how they were being persuaded in the name of ‘Sikhi’ (Sikh religion). They were told how Guru Govind Singh Ji Maharaj took away land from the Mughal rulers and gave it to their ancestors and now Modi government is trying to grab their land and hand them over to corporates. They were told if they do not come out on the streets, they would lose their land and will be thrown out on the streets. The villagers told me that the Left workers have been active since the last five months, busy mobilizing farmers for their protests. Most of the villagers were afraid of Leftists and were unwilling to disclose their names in fear of retaliation.
Vijender Singh from Sangrur, summed up why the farmers joined the Delhi protests. Vijender Singh said that the Left party workers applied a simple formula: they linked the new farm laws to the ‘izzat’ (self-respect) of Sikh farmers. Most of the farmers had to fall in line.
Let me give some details about Vijender Singh. He has a brother, and both of them jointly own 15 kille (roughly acre) farm land in Sangrur. They are also into animal husbandry. Vijender Singh disclosed how Left party leaders toured villages and spread disinformation about the new farm laws. They tried to misguide farmers by saying that the MSPs would be abolished. When this argument did not hold water, they persuaded farmers in the name of ‘Sikhi’ (Sikh religion). The Left leaders collected money from farmers at the rate of Rs 200 per acre to launch the agitation.
A small farmer himself, Vijender Singh knew what the Left leaders were up to. An old farmer died of natural cases during the agitation, and his photograph was used as a ‘martyr’ and circulated on social media. Vijender Singh disclosed how ‘adhatiyas’(middlemen), who are the backbone of farm economy in Punjab, were liberally funding the Delhi protests. At stake is Rs 4,000 crore every year that the middlemen get from the government as commission for procuring foodgrains from farmers. The ‘adhatiyas’ want the new farm laws to be repealed at all cost, and that is the reason why they are openly funding the agitation, Vijender Singh said.
He revealed how local leaders in Punjab are providing transport to farmers to ferry them to the protest sites in Delhi. The farmers are being promised better facilities like toilet, camping, nice beds, free food and essential items, and even woofer music. They have been told that the police will not dare use lathis on them.
Vijender Singh also revealed that Left workers were behind the recent spate in attacks on mobile phone towers in Moga, Patiala, Bhatinda, Ludhiana and other towns. He said, if the Left workers had any problems with Reliance Jio, let them stage peaceful protests, but they should not disrupt online classes that students in Punjab are attending with the help of their cell phones.
Questions arise as to whom the Left parties are helping by disrupting Reliance Jio communication in Punjab, even as the Congress is providing them silent support. One should note, Reliance Jio is the first Indian telecom service provider company which has announced plans to launch 5G network in India next year. If Jio launches its 5G network, it will ultimately harm Chinese telecom companies. At a time when the US and Japan are joining hands to stop the onslaught of Chinese 5G telecom networks, Left workers in India are damaging Jio’s cellphone infrastructure. The Congress and the Left parties have also attacked Swami Ramdev’s Patanjali products. Ramdev’s Patanjali group has halted the march of multinational companies in India, particularly Chinese companies.
Congress and Left parties should ponder whom are they helping when their supporters, in the name of farm agitation, disrupted railway communications in Punjab by squatting on rail tracks for months. At a time when our brave jawans are facing the Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh, goods trains carrying food, essential items and armaments for the armed forces are unable to cross through Punjab because of the agitation launched by these political parties. Our army’s supply lines were badly affected.
When the Indian army faced a standoff with Chinese troops in Doklam, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was busy meeting the Chinese envoy in Delhi secretly. When Chinese troops martyred 20 jawans in Galwan valley, Rahul Gandhi raised questions about the capability of our army. He alleged that China had occupied several thousand acres of Indian territory in Ladakh. One should think whom Rahul Gandhi is helping by making such remarks.
The historical background of our Left parties during the freedom struggle and the 1962 Sino-Indian war is known to all. I remember, when the 2017 Doklam standoff took place, the CPI-M said that India has “irritated” China by giving more importance to the Tibetan spiritual guru Dalai Lama. When Indian and Chinese forces fought in Galwan valley in May this year, the CPI-M described it as “unfortunate”. The question is: whom are these Left parties trying to help?
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