The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has lambasted the BJP-led Centre and Gujarat government for betraying cotton farmers by turning a blind eye to their genuine demands. AAP Gujarat Prabhari Gopal Rai warned that if the farmers’ demands are not met by 5 PM on Sunday, the party will hold a massive Mahapanchayat at Botad Marketing Yard to amplify the farmers’ voice.
Slamming the Modi government’s “anti-farmer” policies, Gopal Rai said while the BJP claims to stand with farmers, it has quietly reduced import duty on American cotton to zero—robbing Indian farmers of fair prices. He also condemned the arrest of farmer leader Rajubhai Karparda and several AAP leaders by Gujarat Police, declaring it a desperate attempt to crush the farmers’ movement, and warned that if justice is denied, the agitation will spread across all markets of Gujarat.
At a press conference held at the AAP headquarters on Saturday, senior AAP leader and Gujarat Prabhari Gopal Rai said that the BJP government in Gujarat is continuously working against the interests of farmers and has resorted to oppressive action against those raising their voices. “Farmers go to sell their cotton at the Botad Marketing Yard in Gujarat, where they face local exploitation. On Friday, thousands of farmers reached the Botad Marketing Yard to protest against this exploitation and launched a movement demanding fair prices and an end to harassment,” he added.
The AAP Gujarat Prabhari noted, “The protest continued through the day and night, but the BJP government refused to accept their demands. Instead, under the cover of darkness around 3–4 a.m., the police of the BJP government forcibly picked up several farmers including AAP’s farmer leader Rajubhai Karpada. Other farmers were locked inside the yard with the gates closed. They are still holding their ground inside, but food and water are not being allowed to reach them. Rajubhai Karpada was taken around by the police the entire night, and farmers are being threatened with destruction if they don’t end their protest.”
Gopal Rai said the hypocrisy of the Modi government has been exposed. “On one hand, PM Modi declares that there will be no compromise on farmers’ interests, and on the other, he removes the import duty on cotton coming from the United States. Saurashtra region in Gujarat produces the highest quantity of cotton. Farmers were already getting poor prices for their crop. When America imposed a 50% tariff on India, the central government responded by reducing the 11% import duty on American cotton to zero.”
“Now that Gujarat’s cotton crop is ready and farmers have started taking it to the mandis, they are being exploited. They are being forced to sell at lower prices, and if they refuse, their cotton is not purchased. When farmers protested this injustice, the Gujarat BJP government began crushing the movement using police force,” he pointed out.
The senior AAP leader said exploitation is not limited to Botad alone. “Farmers are being cheated across all mandis in Gujarat. They are forced to wander from one place to another to sell their cotton. Long queues are forming at mandis, but there is nobody to listen to them. Recently, when farmers from North Gujarat went to the Sabar Dairy to raise their demands, tear gas shells were fired at them, lathis were used, and their voices were silenced,” he said.
Highlighting the political accountability, Gopal Rai said, “Gujarat is the home state of both the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister. The AAP appeals to the Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister and the BJP to accept the legitimate demands of the farmers who are protesting. The government must take immediate steps to resolve the farmers’ grievances.”
Issuing a strong warning, Gopal Rai announced, “If the farmers’ demands are not met, the AAP will organise a massive Kisan Mahapanchayat at Botad Marketing Yard on Sunday at 5 p.m. The mahapanchayat will be attended by AAP Gujarat State President and all senior leaders. If the government wants to arrest us, we will offer ourselves for arrest. If they use lathis, we will take those blows too. But we will not let the struggle for farmers’ rights be stopped by police repression. The government must immediately act on the farmers’ demands and stop this cycle of oppression.”
Gopal Rai concluded by declaring that AAP’s agitation will intensify if the BJP government continues to ignore the farmers’ voice. “If the Gujarat BJP government does not fulfil the legitimate demands of farmers, Aam Aadmi Party will expand this movement to all marketing yards across the state. The struggle will continue until justice is delivered to every farmer in Gujarat.”
