Farmers Movement Archive

At protest sites, unions mark day against repression

BATHINDA: Farmer unions observed an ‘anti-repression day’ on Wednesday across their protest sites on the Delhi borders and in Punjab to oppose the arrest of their fellow agitators since the Republic Day violence. They want information about the missing protesters and ask the government to stop sending arrest notices and opposing the bail petitions. They accuse the central government of using police to scare the protesters. The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) sent copies of this memorandum to its units in Punjab. Addressed to the President, it puts four demands—the release of their comrades, the cancellation of cases against them, their supporters and those still not arrested, no Delhi Police or National Investigating Agency (NIA) inquiries, and the lifting of barricades from the Delhi borders. Darshan Pal and Prem Singh Bhangu of the SKM said that since the January 26 happenings, a sword of arrest hanged over the farmers, as 44 were booked, 122 arrested, and many others, including protest commanders, told to join investigation. At the district and tehsil headquarters, the copies of the memorandum were handed over to the administrative officials. The SKM appreciated the release on bail of Disha Ravi in the toolkit case and welcomed some observations that judge Dharmendar Rana had made in the orders. The morcha called for action against Delhi Police instead and accused its special cell of intimidating Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation’s Delhi state secretary Ravi Rai and going in pursuit of Navkiran Natt of the Trolley Times.

The Times of India

2021-02-25

Amritsar