Members of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha on Saturday held a public meeting at Nandigram and urged the people of the constituency not to vote for the BJP. Rakesh Tikait of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) and social activist Medha Patkar were also present.
“If you want to save the country, then you will have to remove this government. You can ask what is the stand of the non-political people in West Bengal. We say ‘Do not vote for the BJP and vote for anyone else you want to’,” Mr. Tikait said. Supporters of the Morcha held posters saying, “We oppose Farm Laws”.
Nandigram is witnessing the most crucial political contest where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is pitted against BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari. Earlier in the day, the activists held a public meeting in Kolkata’s Gandhi Statue where Ms. Patkar said “Amader gram Nandigram” (our village is Nandigram). Accusing the BJP of “fueling the fire” between Hindus and Muslims, Ms. Patkar said Nandigram symbolised the struggle against land acquisition and she had now decided to extend her support to the farmers’ agitation.
Ms. Patkar, who met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the hospital on Friday, also raised her injury issue while campaigning in Nandigram. The Morcha, which is on a three-day tour of the poll-bound State, will also hold a mahapanchayat at Singur, another symbol of agitation against forcible land acquisition.
