By Raju Kumar
BHOPAL: During election campaigns, developmental issues get relegated to the background as issues of more currency, irrespective of their significance, such as casteism, regionalism, religion, personal accusations etc. take centre stage. Unless the affected people make special efforts to keep their issues alive, their voices get drowned in the election cacophony.
There have of late been widespread protests by farmers. In September, lakhs of farm labourers and farmers reached Delhi’s Ramleela ground to participate in a rally organized by left organizations. They protested against the anti-people policies of the government, which were hitting the common man severely. Bhartiya Kisan Union organized a rally of farmers from Hardwar to Delhi this month. Similarly, Ekta Parishad organized a rally of tribal and landless people from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh to Delhi under Janandolan 2018. This rally ended up in Morena. These rallies and movements have succeeded to highlight the issue of water, forest and land before the political parties.
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram will have assembly elections next month. Through these protests, a large section has tried to convey their message to the political parties for the elections. The population of tribal and landless people is significantly high in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In both the states, the Ekta Parishad has more influence as compared to other states. BJP has been in power in both states for the past 15 years. Displacement of tribals is a big issue in Chhattisgarh. Vidhan Sabha seats of tribal-dominated Bastar division are important for both BJP and Congress. The situation is more or less the same in Madhya Pradesh. Here, out of 230 seats, 35 and 47 seats are reserved for Schedule Caste and Scheduled Tribes respectively, which can play a decisive role in the formation of the government. The protest by Ekta Parishad just before the election can cause difficulties for the BJP in these two states.
Rajgopal PV, founder of Ekta Parishad, says that sometimes it becomes necessary to demonstrate the power of the people to secure their due rights. Talks are going on with the central government for the realization of the rights of the poor and the disadvantaged sections, he says. If these demands are not considered on time, the affected people will have to demonstrate their united strength in the forthcoming elections, he asserts.
“India is a land of farmers. Farming is the mainstream livelihood and our culture. But unfortunately, the importance of land is being undermined, with the rest that the rural society and rural economy are breaking down. So, through mass movements, we are pressurizing the central as well as state governments to work in the interest of the landless, tribals and farmers. The problem of land for housing, land rights for women, issues of national land reform policy and better implementation of forest rights law are some of the areas where the government is not working effectively”, he said.
In the past also, the Ekta Parishad had succeeded to build pressure on the sate governments and the central government through Janadesh 2007 and Jan Satyagraha 2012. Various political parties, including the BJP and Congress, seek to secure the support of tribal and landless people, who come together in such movements from time to time. Some of their demands have been acknowledged by the governments and in some cases actions taken on them, but Ekta Parishad considers these steps as insufficient. As people’s movement slows down, the governments slacken the implementation of such policies and even start framing policies to take away their rights.
It is difficult to estimate how far the Janandolan will be effective before the upcoming assembly elections in the five states as well as the Lok Sabha elections. But Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan recently presented the details of the work done for the tribal and landless people and promised to consider their demands sympathetically. Although discontentment among the farmers of the state has peaked over the rejection of claims by a large number of people under the Forest Rights Act, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar sent a letter to the agitators appealing them to end the agitation.
Many top leaders of Congress, including national president Rahul Gandhi, have joined the mass movement. Rahul Gandhi recalled the decisions taken in the interest of farmers and tribals during the UPA government. He said that the Congress government had brought the land acquisition law to protect the farmers’ land, but the BJP wanted to end it in 2014. Farmers are being continually suppressed, said and added that the tribals seeking forest and land rights are being threatened.
The deprived people are keenly watching how the political parties respond to their demands in the coming assembly elections. If they are serious in their intent, it will be good for them; otherwise they will have to face the consequences. (IPA Service)
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