Sabotage plans failing, farmers reclaiming lost republic: P Sainath

Vishav Bharti

tribune news service

Chandigarh, January 9

Hailing the farmers’ call for holding a Republic Day parade in Delhi on January 26, eminent journalist P Sainath said they are reclaiming the republic.

Sainath is in Chandigarh to deliver a lecture on farmers’ uprising on Sunday. The event is being organised by Citizens for Farmers.

He said the way this government destroyed institution after institution, the idea of our republic was under threat. “The way farmers have risen against this, it has emerged as a hope to save the republic,” he said. He termed the farmers’ call for a tractor parade on Republic Day as historic.

Sainath said it was remarkable how the uprising had countered every strategy of the government. He said the government’s every plan to sabotage the movement failed.

Sainath said the PM was on an offensive and at the same time asking a section of Cabinet to play ‘good cop’. There was a bid to divide the leaders on regional, religious or caste lines and troll armies had been unleashed. “After all these remained ineffective, now they (government) are dilly-dallying so that the movement wears out and dies,” he said.

“The government is on the wrong path. I have been a student of history. So I can tell you that this protest has many parallels to movements against the Colonial rule. Even then the laws had to be repealed. I am hopeful, this time also same happens,” he said. He said the middle class had shown sympathy towards farmers, which was not the case earlier.