The Hindu : National : Keep farming out of WTO, says union

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Monday, Oct 03, 2005

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National

Keep farming out of WTO, says union

Staff Reporter

Around 1 lakh farmers voice their protest despite heavy rain

— PHOTO: Shashi Ashiwal

``HEAR US'': Mahender Singh Tikait, president, Bhartiya Kisan Union, addresses a farmers' rally at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Sunday.

MUMBAI: The rains could not stop the rally of farmers in Mumbai. Around one-lakh farmers from all over India were in the city to protest the Government's World Trade Organisation (WTO) and anti-farmer policies. A memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was released urging him to keep agriculture out of WTO.

Organised by the India Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements, farmers from Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra were among the participating States. Towards the end of the rally there were symbolic arrests of thousands of farmers and the rest were asked to go to the station to take the trains back home.

At the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus there were groups of farmers from North India, mostly from Uttar Pradesh. Ramdati, from Bulandsheher in Uttar Pradesh, had travelled over three days to reach here. "We are waiting for the rain to stop. I have come here to tell the Government that they have to take care of us. How can they ask for electricity bill, increase diesel costs and then not buy our produce at a good price? My family grows sugarcane, wheat and corn but still we are running on losses. Something has to be done," she said. While some took shelter in shops along the station and Azad Maidan, many continued to shout slogans and listened to leaders.

"Change policies"

Mahender Singh Tikait, president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, said, "It does not matter how much it rains here. We will not stop our fight. The Government will have to hear us. We need a change of policies."

Rakesh Tikait, also of the Bhartiya Kisan Union said, "We demand that agriculture be left out of the WTO. If we do not get a positive response from the Government our struggle will continue. For the ministerial meeting scheduled for December in Hong Kong, we will see whether the Government signs the Agreement on Agriculture document. There will be nationwide protests to make our voice heard. They will have to consider what we have to say. Unlike in other countries agriculture here is not just an occupation. It is our way of life." "The UPA Government came to power with a mandate from rural India but now it is coming out with anti-farmer and pro-corporation policies ... the Seed Bill 2004, the Food Safety and Standards Bill 2004, the National Agriculture Policy encouraging contract farming, the dismantling of the Public Distribution System, withdrawal of Minimum Support Price for most of the commodities, the reversal of land reforms for MNCs and agro-businesses... ," the memorandum said.

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