Farmers Movement Archive

Six months on, farmers in Punjab, Haryana hold black flag protest

Farmers in Punjab and Haryana put up black flags on their houses on Wednesday, joining a black day call given by protesting farmer unions to mark six months of their agitation at Delhi borders against the Centre’s three farm laws. Opposition parties, including the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Aam Aadmi Party, have extended support to the Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s call of observing the day as a black day. The morcha is an umbrella body of protesting unions. Also read: Black Day: Farmers mark 6 months of stir, Tikait says protest will be peacefulShiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal raised a black flag at his house in Badal village in Muktsar district and urged the Centre to accept the demand of protesting farmers. INLD general secretary Abhay Singh Chautala followed suit at his Teja Khera farmhouse in neighbouring Sirsa district in Haryana. Former Haryana chief minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda had on Tuesday urged the Centre to restart the dialogue with protesting farmers. Effigies burnt at protest sites At some places in Punjab, farmers took out a protest march, raising slogans against the Centre and burning its effigy. Carrying black flags, hundreds of protesters burnt effigies of the central government. BKU (Ugrahan) Sangrur block chief Gobinder Singh asked farmers to join the three-day dharna in Patiala against the Punjab government from May 28. Farmers have been camping at Delhi’s borders, demanding that the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020, be rolled back and a new law made to guarantee minimum support price for crops. However, the government has maintained the laws are pro-farmer. Several rounds of talks between farmers and the government have failed to break the deadlock over the three laws. A government panel had met farmer leaders on January 22. There have been no talks between the two sides since January 26 when the farmers’ tractor rally in the national capital turned violent. (With PTI inputs)

Hindustan Times

26-05-2021

Chandigarh