Navjot Sidhu, Dhindsas among mighty politicians waiting for their turn to meet farmer leaders

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 10

The farmers have shown how the people’s power is supreme. As the Samyukt Kisan Morcha summoned leaders from across the political spectrum in Punjab, the politicians toed their line and queued up outside the venue to meet the union representatives.

It was a rare sight to watch farm union leaders calling the shots and the politicians of varied hues waiting patiently for their turn.

Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu along with other party leaders waited for almost an hour to meet the leaders of 30 unions at People’s Convention Centre. Sidhu came to the meeting with a heavy police security cover, which was objected to by many.

The Dhindsas—Sukhdev Singh and son Parminder Singh, representing Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt)—who came to meet the leaders at 11 am were asked to come after lunch.

Satnam Singh, president, Kisan Ekta, Chandigarh, said this was the power of democracy. “Khu aap chal ke pyase kol aaya hai (the mighty are themselves coming to meet the downtrodden),” he said.

The representatives of Samyukt Kisan Morcha have assembled here on Friday to meet the representatives of all political parties other than the BJP. “We are asking political parties not to hold any rallies till elections in the state are announced. It not only diverts people from the morcha to rallies, but also divides the people along political lines and could threaten the morcha of farmers against the three agriculture laws. We also want to know what their (parties) views on free power to farmers are,” Veerpal of Kisan Union (Qadian) told The Tribune.

Till the filing of this report, leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal had met the farm leaders, while the meeting with Congress leaders led by Sidhu was under way. The Akali leaders said that though they listened to the farm leaders patiently, they also put across their point of view that in a democracy it was important that all should be allowed their political space.