Farmer unions burn copies of farm laws on Lohri

Tribune News Service

Sonepat/Bahadurgarh, January 13

A day after the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the three farm laws, farm leaders protesting at Singhu and Tikri borders marked Lohri today by burning copies of the laws and reaffirming their resolve to continue their protest until the laws were repealed.

One lakh copies of the three laws were burnt at the Singhu border alone, said Paramjeet Singh of the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha.

The farm leaders said they burnt the copies of the laws as a mark of protest against the Centre’s adamant attitude and reiterated their decision to not appear before the four-member panel formed by the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Several bonfires were lined up at the Delhi-Haryana stretch, the nerve centre of the farmers’ agitation. The protesting farmers raised slogans, sang songs of resistance and hope as they burnt copies of the farm laws.

Earlier today, leaders of farm unions decided to go ahead with their protest calendar and said they would gherao Raj Bhawans across the country on January 23 to demand the repeal of the laws. They said they would also mark “women farmers’ day” on January 18, take a pledge of victory on January 20 (Guru Gobind Singh’s Parkash Diwas) and hold kisan tractor parade on January 26.

Meanwhile, leaders of 32 farm unions from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and other states gathered at Kisan Andolan office in Kundli near the Singhu border to burn copies of the laws.

Many farmer leaders, including Gurnam Singh Charuni, also participated.

“We have marked the Lohri festival by burning copies of the farm laws to mark our protest against the Centre. Earlier, we had celebrated Dasehra by burning effigies of the Prime Minister,” said Manjeet Singh Rai, a farm leader from Punjab.

“We request the government to repeal the farm laws, so that we can return home soon,” he added.

Balkar Singh, a farmer from Sangrur in Punjab, said the festival of Lohri was quite different this time. “It is for a big cause. The festival has become a mark of togetherness for farmers of a number of states.”

Farmers at the Tikri dharna site near Bahadurgarh in Jhajjar district of Haryana reiterated their vow to “fight to the finish” on Lohri, which marks the harvesting of rabi crops.

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