Haryana: Farmers, Workers Blow Poll Bugle With Hisar Mahapanchayat

Hisar: The poll bugle was finally blown by farmers and workers unions in Hisar on Saturday when thousands converged at the new APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) market for a ‘mahapanchayat’ to press for their demands of minimum support price as per Swaminathan Commission recommendations, scrapping of four labour codes and a minimum wage of Rs 26,000/month for formal and informal sector workers. 

The participants, representing the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and several workers unions, said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government had failed them in improving their livelihood conditions and even used brute force to quash their protests.

The mahapanchayat (grand assembly) was addressed by Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta Ugrahan president Joginder Singh Ugrahan, All India Kisan Sabha finance secretary P Krishna Prasad and Centre of Indian Trade Unions secretary A R Sindhu, among others.

The unions, miffed by the apathy of the ruling BJP in the Centre and the Haryana government, gave a call for defeating the party in the Assembly elections scheduled on October 1.

SKM, a collective of various farmers unions, which spearheaded the struggle against three farm laws, has already expressed its displeasure at the new MSP (minimum support price) rates announced by the Nayab Saini government in the state. It believes that the new rates do not cover the costs incurred in agriculture and will push farmers further into poverty and indebtedness. 

Vicky, a farmer, drinking tea with his friends under a massive shed, told NewsClick that they were facing too much uncertainty weather with climate change.

“The prices of fertilisers, seeds, pesticides and herbicides are at an all-time high. We are not able to recover the costs, leave alone any question of profits. The procurement of grains is done late. There is rampant corruption in the selling of DAP and fertilisers. The list is endless,” he said.

Vicky went on to add that Haryana farmers were also unhappy with the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). The scheme, introduced in 2016, aims to provide insurance services to farmers in lieu of premium paid by farmers, state and Central governments.

Raj Kumar, part of the same group of farmers, said insurance companies do not pay compensation in case of failed crops due to drought, untimely rains and frost. However, they are regularly charging a premium every season.

“Farmers have been holding protests for insurance claims for failed crops in 2022 at the Hisar Collector’s Office for two consecutive years. Yet, the companies and the government did not pay heed to our complaints,” he added.

The PMFBY has faced scathing criticism from experts and farmers organisations who argue that it is all about insurance companies minting record profits every year leaving farmers at the receiving end. As per data furnished by former Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in Rajya Sabha, in reply to question by late Sushil Kumar Modi in Rajya Sabha in 2022, insurance companies minted over Rs 40,000 crore in profits in a period of five years from 2016-17 to 2021-22. The data suggest that the companies paid claims worth Rs 1,19,314 crore against accumulated premiums worth Rs 1,59,132 crore.

Apart from farmers, the mahapanchyat also saw participation by construction, scheme, contractual and permanent PSU (public sector) workers who have their own reasons for protests.

Krishna Jangra, who heads the Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union in Hisar, (the workers are responsible for implementation of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), told NewsClick that these workers look after children under the age of six, feed them nutritious food, report any malnourishment and help in other child welfare schemes.

She said the state government provides rent of Rs 200 and Rs 1,500 for rural and urban areas, respectively. Similarly, Anganwadi workers and helpers are provided an honorarium of Rs 14,000 and Rs 7,500 a month respectively.

“There are two types of centres, ‘smart’ Anganwadi centres and ‘normal’ Anganwadi centres. While the smart centres have all facilities, others are run without water, electricity and toilets,” she added.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated our role in implementing the ICDS efficiently and announced additional honorarium of Rs 1,500 and Rs 750 for workers and helpers, respectively in his Mann Ki Baat address on radio on September 9, 2018. The state government received the money but declined to transfer it to us. When we protested against it for four months beginning November 2021-April 2022, a total of 975 workers were suspended. This proves that this government is “anti-poor and anti-worker,” said Jangra.

Anil Kumar, a painter by profession, was among the group of construction workers who joined the mahapacnhayat. He told NewsClick that the Haryana government had mishandled the affairs of the labour welfare board and inadvertently opened the avenues for corruption. The labour welfare board, after much struggle, came into existence in 2007 in the state and has a fund to compensate the loss of workers' lives at work site, provide monetary help in marriage of the daughters and scholarships to needy students of dependent families.

A cess for labour welfare is collected from employers and each worker contributes Rs 5 per month too. To be eligible for such help, a worker must prove that he worked for 90 days in a year and the requisite slip must be verified by the panchayat secretary.

“Earlier the unions did this. Now, these secretaries demand bribes to approve the slips. Even if you pay the bribe, the officers in the labour department ask for a cut in lieu of benefits. A worker is already deprived. How do you think he will afford to pay a bribe?” said Kumar.

A R Sindhu, secretary, CITU, feels the Haryana elections are being fought by people who want to defeat BJP at any cost.

“There’s huge anti-incumbency and you can sense it in people’s conversations. Haryana contributes immensely to Indian defence forces. The government introduced the Agniveer scheme where a soldier would not be considered a martyr. Similarly, they have introduced a new scheme where trainees in industries will be employed and the government will give incentives to employers. The status of jobs is not fixed. This is unforgivable. The voters of Haryana will not tolerate this,” she said.

P Krishnaprasad, finance secretary, AIKS, said farmers and workers unions were compelled to take an electoral stance.

“We were not interested in electoral politics. However, BJP leaders’ actions forced us to teach them a lesson. It is the first time that farmers’ and workers’ unions are meeting and calling for a party’s defeat. We want economic freedom and that can happen only when farmers are paid MSP, workers their minimum wages and their children have jobs,” he said.

Krishnaprasad said, “We have conducted this mahapanchayat so as not to make any party win. We are furious because the (ML) Khattar government and the Centre run by (Narendra) Modi did not fulfil its promise on MSP, minimum wages and jobs. Those who are already celebrating their victory must remember that they will receive the same fate if these promises remain unfulfilled.”