Farmers Movement Archive

Six months of stir: Punjab farmers hold protest, hoist black flags atop houses

Farmers in Punjab put up black flags on their houses and burnt effigies of the Narendra Modi government 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.Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal raised a black flag at his house at Badal village in Muktsar district and urged the central government to accept the demand of protesting farmers. Opposition political parties, including the Congress, SAD and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have extended their support to the farmers’ call of observing the day as “black day”.The Samkyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of protesting unions, had announced that farmers will observe May 26 as “black day” to mark the completion of six months of their protest.Farmers carrying black flags while women wearing black ‘chunnis” held protests in villages and raised slogans against the Union government.Protesting farmers burnt effigies of the BJP-led government at many places, including Amritsar, Muktsar, Moga, Tarn Taran, Sangrur and Bathinda.Farmers, especially youth, put up black flags on their vehicles including tractors, cars and two-wheelers at several places in Punjab to register their protest.SAD leaders led by Bikram Singh Majithia and Daljit Singh Cheema hoisted a black flag at their party office in Chandigarh.Hundreds of farmers, including women and youths, holding black flags held tractor marches in Sangrur and Barnala districts.Sangrur block chief of BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) Gobinder Singh asked farmers to join a three day long protest against the state government in Patiala from May 28. Leader of opposition and Dirba MLA Harpal Singh Cheema, Sunam Aam Aadmi Party MLA Aman Arora and Lehra SAD legislator Parminder Singh Dhindsa hoisted back flags atop their residences to oppose the farm laws.Covid norms violated Amid the second wave of the pandemic, a large number of farmers and their supporters gathered at various places of southern Punjab on Wednesday to observe the “resistance day”.Carrying black flags, scores of activists gathered outside the Bathinda district administrative complex. They later marched to Hanuman Chowk and burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Scores of the protesters did not adhere to Covid norms and social distancing was not followed.Reports of similar gatherings were reported from Muktsar, Mansa and other districts of southern Punjab. Women-led protests in various villages of the region.Bajwa demands scrapping of lawsCongress’ Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa on Wednesday demanded that the BJP government at the Centre should immediately scrap the three farm laws to pave the way for the return of protesting farmers to their homes. Bajwa, who paid obeisance at Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan, Sohana, for safety of farmers protesting at Delhi’s borders for six months, said that he hoped the central government would listen to views other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann ki Baat. “Scrap these #BlackLaws so that our farmers can return to their homes,” he tweeted with photos of black flags at his residence here in support of the Black Day protest observed by the farmer organizations.AAP protests outside guv’s residenceThe AAP observed the “black day” by staging a protest in front of Punjab governor VP Singh Badnore’s residence in Chandigarh. AAP workers led by Kotkapura MLA and state kisan wing president Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Barnala MLA and state youth wing president Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer carried black flags and raised slogans in support of farmers protesting against the three farm laws.“At a time when the entire country was grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic; what was the need for the Union government to bring three black farm laws?” Sandhwan asked, accusing it of neither consulting the farmer organisations nor the opposition parties before enacting the legislation. Sandhwan and Hayer demanded immediate repeal of the three laws.(With PTI inputs)

Hindustan Times

27-05-2021

Chandigarh