Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers hold protests outside BJP leaders’ offices, residences

Observing ‘Sampoorna Kranti Diwas’ on Saturday on the first anniversary of the promulgation of the Centre’s farm laws, farmers burnt copies of the laws outside the residences and offices of leaders of the BJP and its allies in various States. Shouting anti-BJP slogans, groups of farmers were seen holding demonstrations and burning copies of the farm laws outside or near residences and offices of BJP leaders and its political alliance partners in Punjab and Haryana. The demonstrations were held on a call given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of farmer unions spearheading the ongoing farmers’ protests. Demonstrations were also staged in other States, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, according to the SKM. At Panchkula in Haryana, after they were stopped in their march towards Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta’s residence, members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union blocked the Kalka-Zirakpur Road. At Hisar, farmers protested near the residence of Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala. At Tohana in Fatehabad, scores of farmers led by Rakesh Tikait, Gurnam Singh Chaduni and Yogendra Yadav gathered to “court arrest” in protest against the Haryana government’s arrest of farmers following a recent spat with Tohana MLA Devender Babli. Amid the raging controversy, Mr. Babli, in a video statement about the incident on June 1 in Tohana, said, “I am a public representative and I uttered certain words that were inappropriate. I take my words back.” The SKM, however, said on Monday, a sit-in would be held in front of all the police stations across Haryana if the ruling BJP-Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) government did not withdraw the cases filed against the farmers. Farmers associated with the Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee (KMSC), a prominent outfit at the forefront of the ongoing agitation, burnt copies of the farm laws in 11 districts of Punjab, primarily in the Majha and Doaba region, while Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) members burnt copies at around 50 places across 15 districts in the State, according to Sukhdev Singh, general secretary, BKU(U). Sarvan Singh Pandher, general secretary of the KMSC in Amritsar, accused the BJP of imposing a “pro-corporate agenda” on farmers and labourers. “The entire country has come together and is raising voice against the farm laws,” he said.

The Hindu

2021-06-06

CHANDIGARH