Contesting Punjab Assembly polls not in farmers’ interest: Kirti Kisan Union

Kirti Kisan Union (KKU) today refused to contest the upcoming Assembly election and also urged the Balbir Singh Rajewal-led Samyukta Samaj Morcha (SSM) to reconsider its decision of fielding candidates.

At a press conference, KKU president Nirbhai Singh Dhudike, senior vice-president Rajinder Singh Deep Singhwala and others said participation in elections at this juncture would not be in the interest of farmers’ movement and the struggle they led for the whole year.

KKU leaders said instead of contesting elections, they would highlight key issues of the common man. They said a pro-farmer agriculture model was needed to replace the Green Revolution model. The existing model had proved to be “Green Genocide”, they said. Along with alternative farming model, implementation of the Land Ceiling Act to distribute land among small and marginal farmers, unemployment and drug addiction were the main issues, they said.

“Unemployment is the reason for drug problem. To solve it, Punjab needs industries, especially those based on agriculture. But our resources, technology and market has been captured by imperial forces. Foreign capital must be seized and nationalised. Employment is mainly available in three sectors — agriculture, industry and service sector,” they said.

KKU leaders said: “Due to privatisation, people were being denied basic amenities such as health, education, electricity, water, etc. The policy of privatisation must be abolished.” — TNS