Ahead of the proposed Republic Day tractor rally in Delhi, farmer unions have begun holding tractor rallies at villages in Punjab to mobilise people for their parade in the national Capital.

Farmer leaders said tractor rallies have been held in places like Nawanshahr and Gurdaspur as a build-up to the proposed January 26 event and more are planned over the next two days. “There is a great enthusiasm among people in Punjab to become part of the tractor parade,” Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said on Tuesday. He claimed that five to 10 tractors are ready to leave for Delhi from many villages, and in some over 50 are lined up.

We are fully geared up for a tractor parade. We have given a call for taking out tractor marches in all villages in the state on January 20 and 21 in view of the January 26 tractor parade,” said Kokrikalan.  “We are taking out tractor marches to make people aware of the January 26 tractor parade,” a farmer who took part in a rally in Gurdaspur said. He said the aim is to get the maximum participation possible for the Republic Day event to press for the repeal of the three “black laws” on farming.

Another farmer said they wanted to let the government know that there are still many tractors left in Punjab, even after the massing of tractor-trolleys by farmers protesting at Delhi’s border.  “We still have a large number of tractors back home that will move towards Delhi for the tractor parade,” another farmer said.

Farmer unions have announced that they would hold the parade on Delhi’s Outer Ring Road as part of the protest against the new agri-marketing laws enacted at the Centre. 

Farmer unions have said they planned to hold their parade on the periphery of the national capital and would not disrupt the official Republic Day event.  Bhartiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur) president Jagjit Singh Dallewal said 20,000-25,000 tractors would come to Delhi from Punjab alone for the planned parade.  Farmers with their tractors will leave for Delhi later this week, union leaders said.  “Our batches will start moving towards Delhi from January 23 and 24,” Kokrikalan said.

Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said their batches will head for the capital on January 20 and January 22. BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) vice president Harinder Kaur Bindu said women who are camping at the Delhi border and those who come later from Punjab will take part in the parade.  “Several women will also drive tractors on January 26,” she said.

Kokrikalan said announcements are being made from gurdwaras and from vehicles fitted with loudspeakers for mobilising people for the parade.  Farmer leaders have earlier said their tractors would fly the national flag and also carry the flag of their organisations.

YOUNG VOLUNTEERS GIVE A HELPING HAND

Lending a hand to mobilize more and more support for the January 26 ‘Kisan Tractor March’ at the national capital, ‘Punjab First’ — an organization by the young volunteers — have launched a campaign to cover the State’s prominent places with yellow flags in solidarity with the agitating farmers.  “We have got printed 20,000 flags to support the current farm agitation. These yellow-coloured flags with ‘Kisan Majdoor Ekta’ logos would be distributed free of cost throughout Punjab by the volunteers of the organization,” said Manik Goyal, one of the volunteers of Punjab First from Mansa.

These specially-designed flags would be displayed at the state’s prominent places in towns and villages including chowks, shops, houses, etc. That was not all! A parallel social media campaign would also be run to encourage the people to post their pictures with the flag installed at their houses, shops, vehicles, among others.

“A social media campaign, where people would be encouraged to display these flags on their houses, shops, vehicles, etc and post it in their social media profiles, is also part of the current campaign,” said Goyal. “The aim of this campaign by Punjab First is to ensure more support and participation for the farm agitation as well as increasing awareness about farm issues among the people of the State,” said another volunteer Baljinder Singh. 

“Mobilizing more people for January 26 Tractor March is also one of our aims,” added Punjab First volunteer Manjinder Sandhu from Tarn Taran.   Surinder Mavi, Punjab First’s prominent volunteer, said: “This is only the first lot and we will be getting more flags printed and distributed in future.

He called upon more and more people from the State and abroad to join the campaign so that lakhs of such flags are distributed and displayed in the next few days as a show of solidarity with the ongoing farm agitation.