Farmers Movement Archive

Army veterans in Amritsar come out in support of protesting farmers, set to join stir on Delhi border

As many as 300 army veterans in Amritsar have extended their support to the farmers protesting on the Delhi borders for the last 21 days, with many of them set to join the agitation against the agriculture laws from Thursday. The ex-servicemen contributed Rs 4 lakh to send milk powder and other items to the Singhu border, which has emerged as an epicentre of the agitation. At least 55 of them, including three former colonels and eight junior commissioned officers (JCOs), have decided to join the protest on the Delhi border. A truckload of powdered milk and sanitary items will be dispatched from the city’s Dussehra ground on Thursday. The veterans said they would continue supporting the farmers, financially and otherwise, till their demands are met. They said they have been establishing contact with more veterans across Punjab to support to the farmers in the days to come. Col Gurmukh Singh (retired) said, “We started contacting the ex-servicemen who are in touch with us. We managed to contact around 300 ex-servicemen, including JCOs, naiks and havildars. All of them have contributed very generously. Earlier, we thought of sending 2,000 blankets to the farmers in view of the biting cold. But when we talked to farmer leaders, they sought milk powder and sanitary items.” He said, “Some people are trying to sabotage the farmers’ protest by calling them anti-nationals and pro-Khalistani. This is purely farmers’ agitation. Are the farmers of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, who have also been protesting at the Delhi borders also Khalistani sympathisers?” Col Sarabrinder Singh Sandhu (retired) said, “We are with the farmers who are the backbone of the country. We will continue extending our support to the farmers till the last day of the protest. The Centre should immediately scrap the three laws.” Colonels Sukhjinder Singh Dhillon, Kuldeep Singh Dhillon, Gajjan Singh Bajwa, Iqbal Singh Sandhu, and Major PS Hundal (all retired) are also leading the effort to support the farmers.

Hindustan Times

17-12-2020

City