TESTING TIMES

With violence having weakened the farmers’ cause, the opposition will have to tread cautiously to corner the government

- SONI MISHRA

With the Union government failing to reach an agreement with protesting farmers even after nearly a dozen rounds of discussions, the opposition parties had been looking to expand their role in the campaign—from cheerleaders to active political agitators. This was evident from how Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led his party’s allout attack against the Narendra Modi government, accusing it of trying to “put the farming sector into the pockets” of a few industrial houses through controversial laws. Sharad Pawar, Rahul’s ally and former Union agriculture minister, addressed a huge gathering of farmers in Mumbai, where he criticised the Centre for not paying heed to their concerns.

Emphasising the non-violent nature of the farmer agitation, the opposition parties had described it as “satyagraha”. They had hoped that the protests would prove to be the Modi government’s ‘India Against Corruption’ moment. Parallels were drawn between the farmer unrest and the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement, which led to the fall of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government in 2014. Just as in Hazare’s campaign, public sentiment appeared to be in favour of the farmers. Their demands resonated on social media, and the agitation received endorsements from celebrities and politicians, even though the farmers kept the latter at arm’s length.

Then came the mayhem on Republic Day. A large number of protesting farmers deviated from the agreed upon route for their tractor rally, entered the heart of the capital, clashed with the police, stormed the iconic Red Fort and hoisted the Nishan Sahib, the flag of the Sikh community. It forced the opposition to step back and adopt a guarded stance.