Punjab: Farm unions start mobilisation drive ahead of July 22 statewide stir
With the Punjab Assembly elections drawing closer, farmer unions have intensified their mobilisation drive for a statewide protest scheduled on July 22, aiming to exert pressure on both the Centre and the Punjab Government over a range of pending demands.
Farmer leaders said issues such as a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), farm debt relief, compensation for crop losses, rising input costs and “anti-farmer” policies continue to remain unresolved despite repeated representations to authorities.
Though the India-US trade agreements have become a catalyst for the upcoming protests, most of the issues being highlighted by the unions remain unresolved.
In the run-up to the protest, the union leaders and volunteers are holding meetings in villages across the state, urging farmers, farm labourers and villagers to participate in demonstrations planned at toll plazas and other strategic locations.
The campaign has gained momentum over the past week, with several unions conducting door-to-door outreach and public gatherings to mobilise support. On Sunday, representatives from 30 villages in the Attari area, announced to support the protest at toll plazas.
The July 22 protest is being viewed as an important show of strength for Punjab’s farmer organisations, which played a pivotal role in the year-long agitation against the Centre’s three farm laws. The movement had placed the farmer unions at the centre of political discourse ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections and earned them widespread public support.
Political observers believe that the upcoming protest will also serve as a test of the unions’ ability to mobilise large numbers and retain their relevance in Punjab’s evolving political landscape.
Farmer leaders insist the protest is not linked to electoral considerations but is aimed at highlighting the challenges faced by the farming community.
They maintain that unless concrete steps are taken to address agrarian distress, the agitation will be intensified in the coming months.
