Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers hold protests across Punjab, burn copies of agri laws

On a call given by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of 40 farmers’ unions, protests were held across Punjab on Saturday to observe “Sampoorna Kranti Diwas” marking the day when three farm legislations were promulgated as ordinances last year. Carrying black flags, farmers raised slogans against the BJP-led central government and burnt copies of the contentious laws, which they said will destroy the farming community.Cops were deployed and barricades put up near the protest sites to maintain law and order.In Phagwara, farmers burnt copies of farm laws near the residence of Union minister Som Parkash at Urban Estate. The protesters assembled near the GT Road and marched towards his residence. The Union minister was not at home at the time of the protest. The agitating farmers also held a protest near Parkash’s residence in Mohali.Protests were also held in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Mohali, Abohar, Hoshiarpur, Barnala, Nawanshahr and Patiala. In south Malwa, activists of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) held dharnas outside the residences of BJP leaders Surjeet Kumar Jyani in Fazilka and Dyal Sodhi Tungwali in Bathinda.No untoward incident was reported, though protesters violated Covid guidelines at several places.Copies of farm laws were also burnt in Sangrur, Bhawanigarh, Lehra and Barnala. In a joint statement, farmer leaders said the central government used Covid-19 to pass the “black laws” last year and brought three ordinances to hand over the agriculture sector to the corporates.The protesters also condemned the attack on the Golden Temple in 1984 and observed two-minute silence to pay homage to those killed in the military operation.In Hoshiarpur, farmers took out a protest march from a gurdwara to the local BJP office at Shastri market and then burnt the copies of the legislation.Scores of farmers have been camping at Delhi’s borders since November last year demanding that the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 be rolled back and a new law made to guarantee minimum support price (MSP) for their crops. However, the government has maintained the laws are pro-farmer.Several rounds of talks between the farmers and the government have failed to break the deadlock over these contentious laws.Ex-BJP minister Joshi criticises Centre AMRITSAR: Senior BJP leader and former Punjab local bodies minister Anil Joshi on Saturday criticised the Union government for not addressing farmers’ concern over agri laws.A two-time MLA from Amritsar north, Joshi said: “I have also grown up in a village and used to cultivate the crops. I know the pain of a farmer. Now, I am a trader and our trade depends on farmers. If they are oppressed, we feel pain as well.”

Hindustan Times

06-06-2021

Chandigarh