Farmers Movement Archive

No let-up as unions continue protests in Punjab and Haryana

Rohtak/Karnal/Hisar/Patiala: Farm and arhtiya unions staged protests against the three agriculture-marketing bills, in Haryana and Punjab on Saturday In Haryana, the protests were staged in Rohtak, Karnal and Hisar, while protests in Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh’s hometown, Patiala, and former CM Parkash Singh Badal’s village, Lambi, continued. In Patiala, farm union BKU Ekta Dakonda extended support to BKU Ekta Ugraha, which has been protesting in the city. Farmer leaders also appealed to all sections of people in Punjab to join the struggle for a complete shutdown, including road and rail transport and all kinds of business in Punjab. In Rohtak, farm and arhtiya unions protested together, while Karnal Arhtiya Association (KAA) staged the demonstration at the grain market in Karnal. In Hisar, farmers continued to stage protests at three places — at the district mini secretariat, in Balsamand village, and at the new grain market. In Rohtak, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Gurnam Singh Chadhuni accused the BJP-JJP government in Haryana of selling out the interests of the state by giving to the pressure of the Union government. He appealed to the people to observe September 20 as black day and Bharat Bandh on September 25 on the joint call of all farmers organisations. KAA president Rajnish Chaudhary said they staged a dharna in the grain market of Karnal. Work was suspended in grain markets across the district. Because of this, farmers had to wait for procurement. Arhtiyas demanded the government to pay their commission and return the money, which was deducted by procurement agencies in the name of luster loss. Chaudhary said,“These ordinances will cause losses to farmers, arhtiyas, labourers, and munims. There will be no procurement till their demands were not met.” In Patiala, BKU Ekta Dakonda state president Buta Singh Burzgill and general secretary Jagmohan Singh Patiala said the joint struggle for repealing agriculture bills would be intensified and laws would not be allowed to be enforced at any cost. He added that PM Narendra Modi was helping corporates.

The Times of India

2020-09-20

Chandigarh