What made negotiations critical was that BKS is from the RSS stable. Kisan Mahapanchayat’s leader is Rampal Jat, again a former BJP man
While violence and chaos marked the Mandsaur farmers’ agitation, Rajasthan saw a peaceful end to the stir. The situation saw a government that subtly utilised every resource available at hand to diffuse the situation that could have turned politically volatile. The government and BJP machinery was cleverly deployed to prevent the stir from spreading and gaining momentum. Efficient fire fighting by all key players who also stayed on the same page was a vital reason for the smooth closure of talks and end of the agitation.
While the administration cancelled officers’ leave and asked them to ensure peace, the BJP deployed its ministers in-charge of districts to camp in their areas and establish contact with the farmers and the representatives of the Bhartiya Kisan Sangh BKS that was spearheading the stir.
What made the negotiations critical was that BKS is from the RSS stable. The other body was Kisan Mahapanchayat whose leader is Rampal Jat, again a former BJP man. The Opposition, led by the Congress chief Sachin Pilot too had joined the farmers cause with successful show of strength. The agitation led by the RSS backed BKS was tackled by putting RSS strongman Kataria at the helm of talks with the irate farmers.
In a parallel exercise the government engaged the farmers in sale of their crops taking them off the warpath. Immediate purchase of garlic was announced and the date for payment of loans with interest waiver was extended as a part of the scheme. They helped the government get the farmers to the negotiation table. The government while holding talks with the farmers, addressed the largely localised demands like drip irrigation, electronic kantas, announcement of purchase of onion and extending of date of loan repayments. The general farmer had a lack of connect with the two bodies and next to none with those in other states.
The ministerial body led by Kataria had a clear go-ahead from the chief minister to agree to legitimate demands, and to assure them that those that needed to be addressed by the Centre would be sent across on priority. The major issue about MSP protection law formulation was agreeably put on the backburner till next year.
The farmers returned a happy lot after CM agreed to most of their demands. The curtains to the farmers’ agitation proved Raje’s skills at combining party and administrative forces for tackling tricky situations, which singed her colleagues in neighbouring states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. While the experienced Shivraj Singh Chouhan misread farmers’ mood, Devendra Fadnavis was quick to succumb to their wishes.
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