Debt waiver: Farmers court arrest

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 11

Members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur) today assembled in front of the mini-secretariat and courted arrest.

Around 125 farmers were taken to the police station. Only 21 farmers have been taken into custody.

District president of the union Baldev Singh said, “The Central and state governments are ignoring our demands. They are not bothered about the families of the farmers who were committing suicide.”

The promises made by the Congress government on farm loan waiver and compensation have not been fulfilled yet, he added.

Due to problems faced in agriculture, the number of suicides is increasing, he added.

Farmer leader Kaka Singh said, “We are demanding debt waiver, increase in the minimum support prices (MSP) of crops, exempting the products related to agriculture from Goods and Services Tax, lifting the ban on stubble burning, releasing compensation to farmers, giving government jobs to at least one member from the families of the farmers who committed suicide and coming up with some concrete solution to the stray cattle menace.”

The farmers will intensify the protest if the demands are not met, he added.