Days after the Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s (SKM) July 3 meeting that claimed to have settled several organisational issues within the umbrella organisation of about 300 farmers’ outfits, its two core committee members — Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Shivkumar Sharma Kakkaji — held a convention of about 30 farmers’ organisations in New Delhi on Tuesday. They claimed that their effort is to “depoliticise” the SKM. They announced gatherings parallel to the SKM’s call for protests starting on July 18 against the Centre. The SKM, however, said that efforts are on to maintain unity amongst farmers.
Mr. Kakkaji is a former leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh and now heads the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh. Mr. Dallewal, president of Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta-Sidhupur, and Mr. Kakkaji, were among the SKM’s core committee members. The new gathering targeted Left leaning All India Kisan Sabha and said that the constituents of the SKM should not have any political leaning. The statement said: “Dallewal and Kakkaji had objected the SKM’s decision to take back those organisations in Punjab who left SKM to contest elections. The decision was taken without the consent of the general body of the SKM and it was taken by a few members of the core committee.”
The SKM and the All India Kisan Sabha, however, refuted the charges and appealed for unity. All India Kisan Sabha president and SKM leader Ashok Dhawale said the SKM was very accommodative. “No stone was left unturned to invite the leaders who had left the SKM before the Punjab elections. Most of them participated in the July 3 meeting, except five or six organisations. Our efforts will still continue for unity. All farmers’ organisations are invited to join the SKM and our protests. We appeal to them to not do anything which will break farmers’ unity, and then will objectively help the BJP government,” Mr. Dhawale said.
