Farmers Movement Archive

‘Many protesters missing after rally’

Buta Singh Burj Gill, head of a Bharatiya Kisan Union faction in Punjab, said on Sunday that farmer unions had set up a committee to provide legal aid to the protesters in police custody after the violence during Republic Day. At a press conference, Mr. Gill said the unions had identified 163 people who were in custody. Mr. Gill added that many people taking part in the tractor rally were still untraced, and accused the Union government and the police of not cooperating with the farmer unions to find their whereabouts. He said the committee would also investigate this and a clearer picture would emerge in a couple of days. He said the farmers were holding peaceful demonstrations, but the government seemed bent on vitiating the atmosphere and had snapped water supply and Internet services, besides putting barricades on both sides at the Singhu border. On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s offer that the government was just a phone call away, Mr. Gill said there was so far no official communication to the farmer leaders on the resumption of talks, and the unions would not take the initiative till the government created a conducive atmosphere. Earlier, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, responding to Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar’s tweets on the three farm laws, said the tweets were a mix of “ignorance and misinformation”. In a series of tweets, the Minister countered Mr. Pawar, saying “The new laws facilitate promotion of additional choice channel for farmers with choice to sell their produce to anyone, anywhere with hassle-free movement in & outside the State to realise competitive & better net price for their produce.” Volunteers blocked The Delhi Police on Sunday denied entry to volunteers (sevadars) at the Singhu border protest site claiming that outsiders are prohibited for security reasons. A group of women, who used to help in langars (community kitchens), were also refused entry. A senior officer said the venue was being closely guarded by the police and the paramilitary personnel. Around 50 companies of security personnel have been deployed. Joginder Singh, a resident of Ramesh Nagar in Delhi, said, “I requested a police officer to allow me after verification that I am not a protester and I am here only for seva but he ignored my request.” (With inputs from Saurabh Trivedi)

The Hindu

2021-02-01

NEW DELHI