Former Haryana Chief Minister and Congress veteran Bhupinder Singh Hooda said on Sunday that a national memorial will be set up for the farmers and farm workers who died during the year-old agitation against the controversial agriculture laws.
Speaking at the “Kisan-Majdoor Jan Akrosh” rally at the HUDA ground in Sirsa, he also promised ‘martyr’ status to Haryana farmers who died during the agitation and a government job to their next of kin.
“When the Congress government is formed in the State, a National Farmers Movement Memorial will be built in Haryana in memory of 750 farmers and farm workers,” said Mr. Hooda, adding that the Congress had resolved to guarantee farmers minimum support price and freedom from debt. The party leaders also observed a two-minute silence to pay tribute to the farmers and farm workers who died during the agitation.
Election strategy
With the rally, the Congress aims to politically strengthen itself in the Sirsa-Fatehabad-Hisar-Jind belt dominated mostly by the Jats and the farmers, which has been the core vote bank of the party, to counter the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in 2024.
Local political analysts said the well-attended rally in the Sirsa, the Chautalas’s bastion, was a good sign for the Congress and could hint at the consolidation of the farmers and the Jats in this region behind the Hoodas and the Congress. The BJP has little presence in this region, with most of the seats held by the INLD, the JJP and Independents, besides the Congress.
The earlier rallies in the region by the party have also garnered huge response.
Mr. Hooda’s son and Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda has been active in Sirsa for the past few months holding press conferences and attending public meetings to increase the party’s political presence. He was also the in-charge of the Sunday rally.
Talking about how Parliament “refused” to pass a condolence message on the “martyrdom” of the 750 farmers, Mr. Deepender Hooda said the ‘people’s parliament’ at the rally had done what Parliament of the country did not do. “The arrogance of this government led to the sacrifice of 750 farmers. They have power of money, system and conspiracy, but we have the blessings and courage of the people,” he said, amid loud applause.
