Farmers mount pressure on govt ahead of Tarn Taran bypoll

Punjab’s ruling AAP faces mounting pressure as multiple employee unions and farmer groups have intensified their protests ahead of the Tarn Taran Assembly bypoll scheduled for November 11.

Government employees staged a protest earlier this week when Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema was in the constituency to campaign for AAP candidate Harmeet Singh Sandhu.

Holding canisters in their hands, the protesters called him a “Peepa Mantra” (a minister without funds).

On November 2, government employees staged a dramatic protest march, removing their shirts and walking through various parts of the constituency, to highlight their long-pending demands.

The agitation, spearheaded by several unions, has added to the charged political atmosphere.

Tensions escalated when members of the Computer Teachers’ Association, who had been staging a dharna for the past 10 days, were forcibly removed from the protest site by the authorities late last night.

The association has now announced plans to take out a protest march on November 8.

Adding to it, the Punjab State Ministerial Staff Union has declared that it will hold a flag march on November 7.

Its general secretary Jagdish Thakur said the march would aim to “expose” the ruling party’s unfulfilled promises.

“We will ask people not to trust the government again. Not a single promise made by AAP to employees has been honoured,” Thakur said.

Meanwhile, the Kisan Sangharsh Committee, which has a strong base in the region, also turned on the heat against the government.

Farmers associated with the group raised slogans against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during a roadshow on Tuesday.