New Delhi: The farmers' movement on the borders of Delhi continued for the 18th day on Saturday even as it has been hijacked by a couple of non-BJP political leaders and social activists to grind their axes. They are not farmers but they are trying to control it as they are associated with the farmers' organisations.
Topping the list is former CPI(M) MP Hannan Mollah, who even sidelined Punjab's farmer leaders after their talks with Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday. He is now part of the farmer leaders camping at the Delhi-Haryana border, guiding them in the strategies.
The Punjab leaders are not able to get rid of Mollah since he is there in his capacity as the general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha and joint secretary of All India Agricultural Workers Union. Mollah is a resident of Howrah in West Bengal.
Dr Darshan Pal is a retired doctor of the Punjab Health Department. He also belongs to the CPI(M). He is there in his capacity as the state president of Krantikari Kisan Union of Punjab. He is a resident of Patiala.
Kiranjeet Sekho is also from CPI(M). By profession, he is a lawyer, but actively involved in the protest as a member of Kulhind Kisan Federation, along with another lawyer Prem Singh Bnangu.
Another CPI(M) leader dominating the farmers' movement is Kavita Kuruganti, a social worker running two NGOs namely Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch (MAKAAM) and Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA). She is there in her capacity as a member of AIKSCC.
Yogendra Yadav, a known face in Delhi as a psephologist and convener of Swaraj India, is not a part of the farmer delegation holding talks, but he is guiding the farmer leaders. Two other prominent faces in the farmer protests are social activist Medha Patkar of Gujarat and Akshay Kumar of Odisha, both running Nav Nirman Samiti.
(To download our E-paper please click here. The publishers permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
