New Delhi: Chalking out a mega outreach programme, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s top leadership has asked leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to reach out to khaps, farmers and panchayats to dispel “misconceptions” about the farm laws, and also make the party’s stand on the matter clear.
Party president J.P. Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting Tuesday with party leaders from Haryana, Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh regarding the ongoing agitation against the farm laws and the way forward.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Minister of State for Agriculture Sanjeev Balyan, who is also the MP from Muzaffarnagar, also attended the meeting. The BJP’s meeting came, a party insider said, after a series of mahapanchayats organsied by farmers in Haryana, western UP and parts of Rajasthan.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait attended one such mahapanchayat Tuesday.
The BJP has asked MPs, ministers and senior leaders to reach out to agitating farmers from their areas, especially those from the Jat community, and make them aware of the party’s stand and the changes it is willing to incorporate, party sources said.
“We have been given specific instructions to reach out to khaps and panchayats and make them aware of the three farm laws, what all the government and the party have been doing and the fact that the government is still ready for talks,” a second BJP leader told ThePrint.
The sources said the BJP’s Kisan Morcha will also conduct specific outreach programmes and hold meetings at district and village levels.
Key leaders from Punjab, Haryana, western UP and parts of Rajasthan were called for the meeting because the farm protests have witnessed greater participation from these areas, they added.
“Amit Shah ji said the opposition wants to take the country back, and hence keeping the nation’s interest in mind everyone has to work on the ground so that the village and Jat society do not get alienated and stay with us. For the next 15-20 days, everyone has to be in touch with the khaps, and the farmers. We have to end the public support of the agitators,” said another leader ThePrint spoke to.
Other senior leaders including Sat Pal Singh (Baghpat MP), Krishan Pal and Om Prakash Dhankar from Haryana were also present along with MPs and MLAs from the region.
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‘Khaps have to be taken into confidence’
According to the party sources, Shah told the leaders that the protests are purely political in nature, and have nothing to do with farmers.
“Amit Shah ji said the movement is completely political. It has no link with the farmers. There is a need to reach out to the farmers, especially the Jat community, and inform them about the party’s stand and the fact that we are ready to suspend it (the three laws). A plan will be chalked out in the coming 3-4 days. To ensure it reaches maximum people, khaps have to be taken into confidence,” said the second BJP leader quoted above.
With Uttar Pradesh assembly elections due next year, the ruling BJP does not want to take any chances. The party is also learnt to have received feedback that the ground situation can take an adverse turn if the agitation does not come to an end soon.
“Tikait’s influence is growing and is certainly a cause for concern. At the same time, talks between farmer leaders and government have come to a stop. If this continues, the opposition will definitely try to use this opportunity to mislead them. The Jat community had played a significant role in our growth in UP and we can’t afford to let them go away,” said a party functionary.
The opposition has already taken up the issue with both the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal, reaching out to the agitating farming communities.
Also read: How farmers’ protest has made Haryana khaps, infamous for honour-killing diktats, relevant again