Farmers Movement Archive

Parleys on, but Punjab farmer outfits firm on not allowing passenger trains

PATIALA: Taking a stand to not allow movement of passenger trains in Punjab as part of their agitation against the central government-enacted farm laws, farmer unions in Punjab on Sunday claimed that they had allowed the movement of goods trains in the state, but will not allow passenger trains to run. Farmer leaders said the cat was out of the bag after the Centre refused to start the goods trains in Punjab despite farmers clearing the branch lines of private plants. The farmers alleged that the central government was not only anti-farmer, but also anti-Punjab as it wanted to hit the economy of the state by not allowing goods trains to operate. BKU (Ekta Dakaunda) Punjab general secretary Jagmohan Singh Patiala, also a working committee member of AIKSC, said, “This is our agitation against the central government and Centre cannot keep any conditions.” A spokesperson of BKU (Ekta Ugraha) said they had staged a protest on 43 separate sites in Punjab, including the gherao of 12 BJP leaders in Punjab. He said the farmers would not bow before the government’s conditions on agitation. Meanwhile, Punjab assembly former deputy speaker Bir Devinder Singh on Sunday said agitating farm organisations should seriously deliberate upon allowing movement of passenger trains in Punjab. He said non-operation of passenger trains was causing great difficulties to general public and such a move was of benefit to transporters.

The Times of India

2020-11-09

Chandigarh