Farmers Movement Archive

JJP’s Tohana MLA apologises to farmers, withdraws FIR

Three days after three activists were arrested for gheraoing the house of Jannayak Janta Party MLA Devinder Babli, farmers staged a sit-in protest outside the Sadar police station in Fatehabad’s Tohana on Saturday. Farmers led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leaders Rakesh Tikait and Gurnam Singh Charuni asked the police either to ensure court arrest of all farmers or release the three activists.In the evening, Babli met farm leaders at the Balliala rest house in Tohana. He apologised to the protesters and withdrew the cases registered against them. Two FIRs had been registered against protesters after a spat with Babli on June 1 and the third FIR was registered after the farmers gheraoed his house one June 2.In a video message , Babli said he had pardoned those who had pelted stones on his cavalcade and as a public representative from Tohana he was sorry for using “some derogatory words” against the protesters. “ I have apologised to the farmers for using abusive language,” he said.“The MLA has apologised but the administration has not released our protesters from Hisar jail,” Tikait said.The spat between farmers and Babli started when the farmers gheraoed his SUV while he was on the way to Tohana Civil hospital to take part in a vaccination programme. The farmers have given a call to gherao police stations across the state on June 7, if police fail to lodge an attempt to murder case against Babli.Earlier in the day, thousands of farmers had attended a panchayat, which was addressed by Tikait, Charuni, Yogendra Yadav and others in Tohana to protest against police raids and the arrest of their three colleagues. Farmers demanded an FIR against Babli, his PA Radhe Bishnoi and the government doctor, who treated Bishnoi after he sustained injuries and on whose recommendation the FIR was lodged. “The doctor had made some injury marks on the PA’s body,” Charuni alleged. Charuni said, “Instead of raiding our houses, the police should come armed with warrants and arrest us. If the three arrested farm leaders are guilty, then so are we. We will go to the police station and demand to be arrested.” Farmers burn copies of three farm lawsObserving Sampoorna Kranti Divas, farmers burnt copies of the three farm laws across the state. They staged protests near the houses of MP Sunita Duggal, deputy CM Dushyant Chautala and power minister Ranjit Singh Chautala in Sirsa. Protesters burnt copies of the contentious laws outside the houses of agriculture minister JP Dalal in Loharu, Naina Chautala and Bhiwani-Mahendergarh MP Dharambir Singh’s offices in Charkhi Dadri.

Hindustan Times

06-06-2021

Chandigarh