Farmers hold protest, flay state govt for detaining leaders, uprooting tents
Thousands of farmers and workers, led by the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC), staged a massive protest at Ranjit Avenue Dussehra Ground against the Punjab and Central Governments here on Thursday.
Last evening, the farmer union, which had been holding the protest at Haryana borders for over the last one year, had given a call for protests at the district headquarters following the detaining of their leaders and uprooting of their tents by police personnel.
Though the police managed to stop farmers from reaching the district headquarters, the protesters later held a dharna at Ranjit Avenue. Earlier in the day, the police arrested at least 50 farmers who had reached the place.
The police took the protesters into custody and made them sit in buses which were later taken to police stations. The protesters alleged that the AAP government, led by CM Bhagwant Mann, is working at the behest of the Modi government and is oppressing the farmers.
Farmer leaders claimed that the Punjab Government had called them for talks, but instead detained them, a move they described as a deceitful and unprecedented step. They also accused the government of brutally cane-charging farmers, jailing women and destroying their stage at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders.
The protesters criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who, they claimed, had once called himself a well-wisher of farmers, but is now suppressing them at the behest of the Modi government. They alleged that the Punjab Government is acting as the “B-team” of the BJP, supporting the Central Government’s actions.
This protest is part of a broader agitation that has been going on in the state with farmers demanding better prices for their crops, loan waivers, and other concessions. The protest has highlighted the deepening rift between the state government and the farmers, who feel that their interests are being ignored.
Protests also witnessed in Tarn Taran
The detaining of leaders of farm and labour organisations soon after the talks with the Union Government ended on Wednesday has made the situation tense in the district with a large number of members of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC), Punjab, holding a protest near the District Administrative Complex here on Thursday.
They were demanding to release their detained leaders at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders. The farm leaders are worried over the fate of the six women and two male leaders of the organization, who were sitting at dharna site at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders.
The police conducted raids, throughout the night, at the houses of KMSC leaders in different villages, but none of them could be traced. Members of the farm organisation immediately reached Gurdwara Baba Sidhana, Sheron, and called a number of workers there and discussed how to deal with the situation.
On Thursday morning, farmers and labourers, gathered at the gurdwara in a big number, started proceeding to National Highway No.54 to block traffic, but a heavy police force stopped them on the way. Soon they were allowed to proceed to the District Administrative Complex (DAC) to stage a dharna, but were detained before they could reach the DAC.
Sukhwinder Singh Sabhra, state president, Ranbir Rana, state general secretary, Satnam Singh Pannu, Sawinder Singh Chutala and other leaders of the KMSC, termed the detaining of the farm leaders as a shameful act as it would sabotage the table-talk process. However, SSP Abhimanyu Rana responded neither to the mobile calls nor SMSes. The agitating members were gheraoed by the police.
