Dispersed forcibly by cops, farmers block Sirsa NH

Tribune News Service
Hisar, October 7

Farmers blocked the National Highway-9 near the Sirsa’s Sahuwala village after the police forcibly dispersed them from Bhumman Shah Chowk, where they were sitting on a dharna, on Wednesday morning.

The police detained 93 activities, including Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav. They were, however, released later in the evening.

On Tuesday, farmers had tried to lay siege to Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala’s residence in Sirsa in protest against the three controversial farm laws. Some farmers were booked in connection with the Tuesday’s incident.

This provoked farmers to sit on a dharna in front of the Sadar police station near Sahuwala village.

Yadav said the dharna would continue till their the time the Centre amended the laws. “We will not budge under the police crackdown… Farmers were protesting peacefully on Wednesday. Some anti-social elements indulged in stone-throwing to defame farmers.”

“Dushyant Chautala has not spoken even a single word against the farm laws. We are protesting against the laws brought by the Centre to discontinue the MSP regime. His Jannayak Janta Party, which claims to be a party of farmers, is sitting on the BJP lap,” protester Abhay Yadav had told the media.

Dushyant should either withdraw his party’s support to the BJP government in the state or clear his stand on the issue, he had added.

Hundreds of farmers and arhtiyas (middlemen) have been protesting daily against the three laws across Haryana.

Superintendent of Police Bhupender Singh said farmers were not arrested, but detained. “The police are trying to anti-social elements with the help of video footage of the incident,” he added.