Gujarat's top non-political farmers' body to hold anti-BJP 14 day motorbike campaign starting November 17

Rahul Gandhi interacting with KSG farmers on Nov 3

By A Representative
In a major boost to the Congress, the top non-political farmers' organization, Khedut Samaj Gujarat (KSG), has thrown its weight behind the Congress, declaring on Wednesday that it would take out 2,000 km long motorbike rally from South Gujarat's Bhilad to North Gujarat's Amirgadh via Saurashtra to campaign for the "ouster" of the BJP government in the state.
"Farmers form 52% of the electorate, and they are extremely unhappy the manner in which the state BJP rulers have treated them", Sagar Rabari, who heads the KSG, told newspersons in Ahmedabad. "Our 14-day rally will start on November 17", he said, adding, "About 100 motorbikes will move from one place to another, addressing farmers' meetings, and asking them not to vote for the BJP which has ruled the state for 22 years."
Rabari's open opposition to BJP follows a KSG-sponsored well-attended dialogue, in which hundreds of farmers directly interacted with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on November 3 in Valsad, South Gujarat.
"While Gandhi gave us time for interaction, where farmers put forward their demands, when we approached BJP president Amit Shah for a similar discussion, our KSG leaders were put under house arrest. I had to talk with the Election Commission office to ensure their release", he said.
The major demands put forward by KSG before Gandhi included abrogation of the Gujarat land acquisition law, which seeks to undermine consent and social impact assessment clauses of the 2013 land acquisition Act of the Centre, and abrogation of the Special Investment Region law, which seeks to impose town planning norms on agricultural land by imposing a 50% land acquisition in the name of infrastructure development.
"We sought firm assurance from Gandhi that he would allow farmers' right to protest by taking out rallies and dharnas, something denied to us by the BJP rulers, and he readily agreed that the basic democratic rights of the people cannot be violated in any manner", Rabari said, adding, "Other demands included 24 hour power and debt waiver".
Rabari further said, "We have concrete example on how waters from the Narmada dam meant for irrigation is being diverted to industry. The Vallabhipur branch canal of the Narmada project has a capacity of receiving 2,200 cusecs of water. However, it receives just 900 cusecs."
"Worse, of this, the farmers get only 500 cusecs of the canal waters for irrigation, while the rest is claimed to be diverted as drinking water," he said, adding, "We suspect that the water is being diverted to industry, to different state-owned industrial estates operating in the region. This should stop immediately."
KSG has been in the forefront in the struggle against special investment regions (SIRs), leading to downsizing or completely put off the decision for having SIRs.
Rabari clarified, "Our decision not to vote for the BJP does not mean that, if the Congress comes to power, we will stop fighting for farmers' cause. On the contrary, our struggle for farmers will continue."

Comments

Overriding India's constitutional sovereignty? Citizens urge PM to reject WHO IHR amendments

By A Representative A group of concerned Indian citizens, including medical professionals and activists, has sent an urgent appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to reject proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) before the ratification deadline of July 19, 2025.

Designing the edge, erasing the river: Sabarmati Riverfront and the dissonance between ecology and planning

By Mansee Bal Bhargava, Parth Patel Across India, old black-and-white images of the Sabarmati River are often juxtaposed with vibrant photos of the modern Sabarmati Riverfront. This visual contrast is frequently showcased as a model of development, with the Sabarmati Riverfront serving as a blueprint for over a hundred proposed riverfront projects nationwide. These images are used to forge an implicit public consensus on a singular idea of development—shifting from a messy, evolving relationship between land and water to a rigid, one-time design intervention. The notion of regulating the unregulated has been deeply embedded into public consciousness—especially among city makers, planners, and designers. Urban rivers across India are undergoing a dramatic transformation, not only in terms of their land-water composition but in the very way we understand and define them. Here, we focus on one critical aspect of that transformation: the river’s edge.

FSSAI defies Supreme Court order on food warning labels, citing 'trade secrets' for withholding vital information

By A Representative India’s food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), is facing strong criticism for deliberately delaying the implementation of crucial warning labels on High Fat, Sugar, and Salt (HFSS) food products. This comes despite a clear Supreme Court order on April 9, 2025, which mandated the completion of the "entire exercise" within three months. Adding to the controversy, the FSSAI is reportedly hiding expert reports and over 14,000 public comments under the pretext of "trade secrets."

Ecological alarm over pumped storage projects in Western Ghats: Policy analyst writes to PM

By A Representative In a detailed letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, energy and climate policy analyst Shankar Sharma has raised grave concerns over the escalating approval and construction of Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs) across India’s ecologically fragile river valleys. He has warned that these projects, if pursued unchecked, could result in irreparable damage to the country’s riverine ecology, biodiversity hotspots, and forest wealth—particularly in the Western Ghats.

‘Act of war on agriculture’: Aruna Rodrigues slams GM crop expansion and regulatory apathy

By Rosamma Thomas* Expressing appreciation to the Union Agriculture Minister for inviting suggestions from farmers and concerned citizens on the sharp decline in cotton crop productivity, Aruna Rodrigues—lead petitioner in the Supreme Court case ongoing since 2005 that seeks a moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops—wrote to Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on July 14, 2025, stating that conflicts of interest have infiltrated India’s regulatory system like a spreading cancer, including within the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Gurdial Singh Paharpuri: A lifetime of revolutionary contribution and unfulfilled aspirations

By Harsh Thakor* Gurdial Singh Paharpuri, a Central Committee member of the Communist Party Re-Organisation Centre of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPRCI(ML)), passed away on July 2, marking a significant loss for the Indian Communist Revolutionary movement. For six decades, Singh championed the cause of revolution, leaving an enduring impact through his lifelong dedication to the global proletarian movement. His contributions are considered foundational, laying groundwork for future advancements in revolutionary thought. He is recognized as a key figure among Indian Communist revolutionary leaders who shaped the mass line, and his example is seen as a model for revolutionary communists to follow.

Civil rights coalition condemns alleged abduction of activist Samrat Singh by Delhi police

By A Representative The Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), a collective of civil and democratic rights organisations, has strongly condemned what it describes as the illegal abduction of psychologist and social activist Samrat Singh by a team of Delhi Police officials. The incident occurred on the evening of July 12, 2025, at Singh’s residence in Yamunanagar, Haryana.

Historic Supreme Court ruling grants tribal women equal right to inherit property

By Raj Kumar Sinha* The Supreme Court of India has delivered a landmark judgment declaring that denying tribal women inheritance rights solely based on gender is unconstitutional. The court affirmed their equal right to ancestral property, stating that refusing a share in such property to a tribal woman or her legal heirs on the basis of sex is both unjust and unconstitutional.

A disconnect between data and daily life: India's inflation puzzle

By Hemantkumar Shah* In recent news, the government has announced that the inflation rate has reached a six-and-a-half-year low. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation for June stood at just 2.1 percent, down from 2.82 percent in May. This is the lowest rate in 77 months, and the ministry even claims that food prices have fallen by 1.06 percent compared to last year.

Search This Blog