Farmers Movement Archive

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh to lead protest at Rajghat

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh announced a relay protest of Congress lawmakers at Rajghat on Wednesday after President Ram Nath Kovind refused to meet a delegation led by him over the Centre’s controversial new farm laws and the northern state’s rapidly worsening power crisis. The chief minister’s office (CMO) on October 21 sought an appointment with the President on November 4 to urge him to grant his assent to Punjab’s farm bills passed last month by the state assembly in a bid to bypass the Centre’s new laws that ushered in reform in the agricultural sector but also sparked widespread protests in the state.But Rashtrapati Bhavan declined the appointment on Monday, pointing out that the state farm bills were still pending with the governor. The CMO sent another request the same day, but the President’s office declined this as well, saying it “cannot be accepted at this juncture for reasons cited earlier”.In response, Singh announced on Tuesday that he will lead a dharna to highlight the “power crisis and critical essential supplies situation”. The CM said as section 144 of the CrPC -- which prohibits assembly of people -- is in force in the Capital, MLAs will go from Delhi’s Punjab Bhawan to Mahatma Gandhi’s final resting place in Rajghat in groups of four to hold a relay protest. Singh will lead the first batch at 10.30 am. Singh also asked legislators of other parties to join the dharna in the interest of the state. The CM said the protest in Delhi will also highlight the power crisis and scarcity of essential supplies in the state due to the suspension of goods trains by the Centre.The Railways stopped running trains to Punjab from October 1, saying farmers protesting against the farm laws blocked tracks and attacked trains, leading to losses. But the state government says it has eased the blockade and allowed goods trains to run. “GVK has announced it will close down operations at 3pm on Tuesday since coal stocks have completely run out. The public and private power plants in the state have already shut down,” the CM said in a statement.On October 20, Punjab’s assembly unanimously passed four bills and a resolution to counter the three agriculture marketing laws enacted by the Centre in September, and pledged to safeguard the interests of the state’s farmers, who are concerned that the central legislation would deprive them of government-fixed minimum support prices (MSPs) for their produce and put them at the mercy of big agribusinesses.Because the state laws are in conflict with the central laws, which have been signed by Kovind, they require presidential assent to be enacted. Some farmers organisations say the bills offer nothing substantial.BJP’s state general secretary Subhash Sharma said Singh should stop political maneuvering. “The railways have requ-ested the Punjab government to get the train tracks vacated and he should ensure this as law and order is his responsibility. Who will be responsible if some mishap occurs? He (Singh) is only indulging in these political theatrics only to hide his failures.”

Hindustan Times

04-11-2020

India