As per reports, thousands of farmers shall march to the capital this week in a Kisan Mukti March demanding a minimum support price for their crops and freedom from debt. The march to be held on November 29 and 30 is being organized by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC).
Mainstream media reports conveniently fail to mention the political affiliation of the AIKSSC. One glimpse at their website, however, makes it abundantly clear that they are merely a front for communist politics.
Even the ‘about us’ section of AIKSCC’s website fails to mention their political leanings. It says, “All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) was formed in late June 2017, in response to the spontaneous struggles of farmers in different states like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, for debt relief and remunerative prices. This is the first such broad-based alliance in India at the national level, for securing farmers’ rights on two fronts to begin with.”
Then a separate section lists its constituent organizations. It’s these constituent organizations that make their political affiliation abundantly clear. Jai Kisan Andolan (JKA) and former AAP politician Yogendra Yadav’s Swaraj Abhiyan are two of them. It’s unclear why the two have been listed as different entities when the former is an initiative of the latter. The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) is another communist frontal organization affiliated to attached to communist political parties. The All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha (AIKMS) is associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist).
Akhil Gogoi’s Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) is also a member organization of the AIKSCC. The All India Kisan Mahasabha (AIKM), All India Khet Mazdoor Kisan Sabha (AIKMKS), AIKS (Canning Street) are Left organizations. The Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathana (SSS) was open to allying with the Shiv Sena if it pulled out of the alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra. The AIKSCC has over a hundred constituent members and a good portion of them appear to be directly associated with the Left.
The working group of the AIKSCC, which has 20 members, provides a clearer picture of its political leanings. Akhil Gogoi, Dr Ashish Mittal of AIKMS, Atul Kumar Anjaan of AIKS, who is also a prominent leader of the CPI, Raja Ram Singh of AIKM, Hannan Nollah from AKIS (Canning Street) all align towards the Left. Avik Saha and Yogendra Yadav from Swaraj Abhiyan also have left political leanings although they aren’t associated with any communist parties. Medha Patkar from the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), a vocal opponent of Prime Minister and founder of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, is also a member of the working group of AIKSCC. Raju Shetti is from SSS, another anti-BJP front. Thus we have 9 of the 20 members with very prominent anti-Modi political leanings. And among those 9, apart from the SSS, the rest have very strong Leftist political inclinations. There are several others who are related to the Left too.
The CPIM’s role in protests in Maharashtra is also well known. As per Financial Express, the Kisan March saw “thousands of protesting farmers led by CPI(M)-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha (AIKS) walked 180 km for six days to reach Mumbai to press for their demands.”
Interestingly, an October 15 report on CPIM’s website mentions that “Fresh round of kisan agitational movements are in the offing”. Therefore, the protests to be held on November 29 and 30 appear clearly to be protests by leftists.
Every political party has the right to protest on behalf of an aggrieved community. That is the essence of democratic politics. But to pretend as if the protests are not motivated by politics is dishonest. The fact that the mainstream media allows the Left to get away by proclaiming it to be “Farmers’ protests” instead of calling it “Left protests for farmers’ rights” as it quite clearly it only goes on to show that the media is party to the Left agenda.
In the same manner, the media allows Leftists to get away with dishonesty by labelling Pride Marches as events organized by the LGBT community when in reality, those are events are organized by leftists to further their own political agenda.
