Through massive famers' event, AAP plots Opposition revival in Gujarat

BJP workers may have torn up posters of the Aam Aadmi Party-organised Kisan Mahapanchayat event at Surendranagar and Ahmedabad in Gujarat on Friday (October 31), but that did not deter AAP from buckling under pressure. The venue, which could accommodate around 25,000 people, was packed by 12 noon as AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann arrived for the event near Sudamda village in Sayla taluka of Surendranagar district, about 127 km from Ahmedabad.

The event coincided with the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and the BJP’s celebration at Ektanagar in Narmada district, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Also read: Unseasonal rains in Gujarat wreak havoc on crops; farmers grapple with major losses

Kejriwal attacks Sanghvi

The Kisan Mahapanchayat is part of AAP’s month-long ground event that they have been conducting since June this year across Saurashtra, until the event was disrupted by police in Botad on October 12.

From the stage of Kisan Mahapanchayat, Kejriwal hit out at Harsh Sanghavi and claimed the BJP made him Gujarat deputy Chief Minister for ordering police action against farmers.

“Who gave permission to lob tear gas and lathi-charge farmers, arrest Chaiter Vasava (AAP MLA) and 69 farmers in Botad? Who did not let us bring the families of the arrested farmers on stage today? Harsh Sanghavi was rewarded by the ruling BJP government for ordering action against farmers and made him the deputy CM of Gujarat,” Kejriwal said.

Also read: Gujarat’s twin realities: Crores for Ektanagar, neglect for Narmada’s tribals

Mann slammed the ruling BJP government for not announcing and disbursing compensation for crop loss incurred by farmers in multiple spells of unseasonal rains this year.

“In Punjab, farmers lost crops to flood one time, and we disbursed compensation within a month. Here, the BJP hasn’t even announced compensation,” said Mann in his speech.

'Response to police brutality'

The event, showcased by AAP as a major show of strength and solidarity with the farming community in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, saw the presence of all state leaders, including MLAs Vasava, Gopal Italia, and AAP Gujarat unit president Isudan Gadvi, among others.

“This Kisan Mahapanchayat is our response to the brutality of Gujarat Police against farmers and AAP leaders in Botad earlier this year,” Surendranagar district president Mayur Sakaria told The Federal while referring to the October 12 incident when a Kisan Panchayat organised by AAP had turned violent.

“There has been no survey of crop loss this year despite multiple spells of unseasonal rain. Adding to that the government decided to remove import duty on cotton for textile traders and did not consider what impact it would have on cotton farmers in making the decision. When farmers in Botad gathered to protest that, the police lathi-charged and lobbed tear gas to disperse them. They arrested 69 people from Botad on October 12, including local farmers who spent their Diwali in jail away from families after their bail was rejected by district court,” added Sakaria, amid heavy police deployment of 300 police personnel, including three Deputy Superintendents and 10 police inspectors.

AAP raises kadada system issue

Riding on the anger of farmers, various AAP leaders in Gujarat raised the issue of kadada system in Gujarat APMCs (Agriculture Produce Market Committee) across the state.

Kadada or kadado means deduction and is an unofficial process practised in Gujarat APMCs. It is a system where the APMC yard authorities buy a portion of the farmers' crops at MSP (Minimum Support Price), while refusing to buy a considerable portion of the harvest, calling it, or terming it, as of poor quality. The farmers, then, have no option but to sell their crop to private buyers who offer a lower price.

This practice has been more rampant in APMCs of the Saurashtra region for years, causing huge losses for farmers and resulting in their resentment.

“The system of kadada has been practised by both Congress and the BJP local leaders who help their own men to buy the crops at meagre prices. It was a system introduced by Congress local leaders in 1990s and has been going on ever since. This is perhaps the first time a political party is raising this issue. Although it remains to be seen how much that farmers resentment converts to electoral support for the AAP,” Ghanshyam Shah, an Ahmedabad-based political analyst, told The Federal.

“However, AAP has brought a much-needed political movement in Gujarat that was missing with an almost defunct Opposition party Congress. Irrespective of the electoral impact, this is a positive change in the political scene of the state,” he added.

“We stand with the farmers of Gujarat. In Botad, Gujarat Police chased them till their homes and thrashed them and later arrested them for just attending a political rally. We will fight for farmers in court for their bail and on the ground for their right to MSP on their full produce. Congress may have abandoned the farmers, but we will not,” said Italia, AAP MLA from Visavadar.