Farmers Movement Archive

Khori Basti: BKU(C) leader issues ultimatum to govt.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) president Gurnam Singh Charuni on Wednesday gave seven days’ ultimatum to the Haryana government to come out with a rehabilitation plan for the Khori Basti residents and restore the water and power connections to the colony. Mr. Charuni threatened to launch a mass movement if the demands were not met. Six people, including student activist Rajveer Kaur, were taken into preventive custody by the Faridabad Police. However, the panchayat called by the colony residents against the Supreme Court-ordered demolition was not held in the wake of the police action. Mr. Charuni staged a brief “dharna” outside the colony after the police did not let him inside. He met a few residents of the colony at the “dharna” site. The farmer leader said the residents of the Khori Basti had settled around three or four decades ago and should be rehabilitated. He also demanded strict action against the officials who allegedly took bribe to allow them to settle on the forest land. Mr. Charuni asked the Haryana government to chalk out a rehabilitation plan for the residents of the colony, restore the water and power connections and release those arrested by July 7 or face a mass movement. Labour rights activist and Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan activist Nodeep Kaur, in a video posted on her Twitter handle, said Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch president Ravinder and her sister Rajveer Kaur had also gone for the panchayat and were arrested. She also accused the police of “brutal lathicharge”. Assistant Commissioner of Police, Badkhal, Sukhbir Singh said a large number of people assembled at the Khori Basti manhandled police personnel and pelted stones forcing the police to use “mild” force. Earlier, CM Manohar Lal, in Chandigarh, said 1,400 families at Khori Basti were voters of Haryana and the government was working on a plan for their rehabilitation.

The Hindu

2021-07-01

FARIDABAD