26 January 2021

Republic Day 2021 saw lakhs of farmers from all over the country, braving all repression, including tear gas shelling and lathicharges, take to the streets with their tractors and tricolour flags, celebrating the spirit of the democratic Republic of India. We warmly congratulate the farmers for their courage and determination. We condemn the police repression that has claimed the life of one farmer.

The lasting image of the farmers’ parade is the vast, almost unending line of tens of thousands tractors festooned with banners and the national tricolour flags, making their way through Delhi streets even as Delhi residents flanked the streets with messages and gestures of welcome and offers of hospitality.

The sporadic incidents that disturbed this dominant picture, are primarily due to the adamant attitude of the Modi regime and the repression unleashed by its police against the farmers. The Modi regime has forced farmers to camp at Delhi’s borders for two months in the cold weather, resulting in the deaths of more than 70 farmers at the protest sites. Even in the face of this, the movement has displayed remarkable patience and restraint, occasional expressions of restlessness notwithstanding.

The Modi regime must not be allowed to spin a narrative blaming and demonising farmers. We must all refuse to allow the issue to be diverted away from the demand to repeal the three farm laws. We appeal to the farmers to resume their agitation without getting provoked and diverted, and pledge our unflinching support and cooperation for their just movement. The farmers' resistance today forms the bedrock of Indian people's defence of the Constitution and the vision of democracy and people's rights and we must all support it with all our goodwill, hope and solidarity.

Dipankar Bhattacharya   
General Secretary CPIML