Farmers Movement Archive

‘Won’t sit silent’: Kin of farmers who died in stir join march

Jind/Kaithal/Karnal: “I have lost my father in farmers agitation and will not sit silent until the black laws are repealed,” said Balraj Singh from Bhana village in Haryana’s Kaithal district, whose father, Ramkumar Singh, died of a cardiac arrest on the Tikri border on December 31. Balraj was in the cavalcade of 25 tractors which left Bhana for the Tikri border on Saturday, in the memory of two farmers from the village who have died while protesting against the three contentious laws imposed by the Centre last year. Ramniwas Singh, whose brother Baldev Singh died of a cardiac arrest at the Tikri border on Januar 21, also left for the state border on Saturday. “I am ready to give my life to save farmers from these laws,” he said. The protesters shouted slogans of “Shahid Kisan Amar Rahe (may martyred farmers live for eternity)” as their tractors rolled out of the village. Rakesh Bains, spokesperson of BKU (Charuni), said around 30 farmers from Haryana had lost their lives during the ongoing agitation. Meanwhile, support for the January 26 ‘Tractor Parade’ in Delhi continued to swell in Haryana. Farmers from several villages of Jind and Kaithal left to take part in the protest parade on January 26. According to a farm union, around 20,000 tractors from Jind and Kaithal are expected to take part in the parade. The National Highway 44 in Karnal — which connects Delhi to norther districts of the state, Punjab and Chandigarh — witnessed a massive movement of tractor-trailers. The number is likely to swell in the coming days. Several cars and motorcycles were also part of the convoys. Thousands of tractors decorated with Tricolor and BKU flags were visible on NH 44’s stretch to Delhi. Jagdeep Singh Aulakh, a farmer leader associated with BKU (Charuni), claimed that thousands of tractors from Karnal district were expected to participate in the farmers’ parade. “We will proceed to Delhi on January 24, from Bastara toll plaza in Karnal. Several teams have already been constituted for smooth movement. We will not block NH 44 at any cost. The parade will be peaceful and disciplined,” he said. The movement of farmers from Ambala and neighbouring Yamunanagar districts was large. Most tractors which left from Ambala had pitched four flags — the Tricolour, respective union flag, Kesri Nishan (Sikh flag), and black-coloured ones. In Ambala, BKU (Charuni)’s cavalcade left from the grain market at Mohra village in Ambala Cantonment. In Yamunanagar, farmers started from Gadholi toll plaza on NH 344. District administrations kept up the village, but not much police force was deputed along routes and protesters were not stopped anywhere on the highways. BKU Hatyana (Charuni) Ambala vice-president Gulab Singh later told TOI over the phone that they had reached Delhi safely. The union’s Yamunanagar district director, Mandeep Singh, said about 600 tractors left for Delhi from the district on Saturday and more would move in the next two days. Ambala range inspector general of police (IGP) Y Puran Kumar said, “As per instructions from DGP, we are not stopping the movement of farmers towards Delhi. We will only keep a watch on them, so there is no traffic congestion and no untoward incident.” Union functionary, an ex-serviceman, wears medals to protest In Ambala, BKU Haryana (Charuni) district vice-president Gulab Singh, an ex-serviceman, left for Delhi while wearing his service medals. Asked about Army’s advisory to ex-servicemen to not wear the same while attending the protest, Gulab Singh, who retired as a sergeant of Indian Air Force (IAF) and participated in the wars of 1965 and 1971, said, “These medals are our honour and we even wore them when we had sat on protest for ‘One Rank, One Pension’ (OROP) at Jantar-Mantar in Delhi. We were not asked to remove these medals at that time as it would benefit all Army ranks then. Why are we now being asked to remove them? Officials are taking such decisions to please ruling dispensation.”

The Times of India

2021-01-24

Chandigarh