Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers gherao Ashwani Sharma, other BJP leaders in Jalandhar over agri laws

Farmers on Wednesday gheraoed Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Ashwani Sharma and other leaders in Jalandhar where they held a meeting in view of the 2022 assembly elections. The farmers blocked both sides of the road leading to the meeting venue at Circuit House and scuffled with police personnel who had put up multiple barricades to stop the protesters. Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU Rajewal) activists said they will oppose the BJP programmes across the state as the party had introduced black laws to ruin the state’s farmers. “People will not tolerate excessive force used by the police,” they added. Ashwani Sharma said the BJP and its workers were fully prepared for the elections and the people of the state were ready to bring the party as an alternative. “We will hold booth-level conferences in all 117 seats in the coming days. We thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the safe return of 400 Punjab-origin people from Afghanistan to India,” he added. He called upon the leaders of the farmer organisations to resolve the issue related to the three agriculture laws as they did in case of sugarcane prices with the Punjab government. “They should give up their demand for of repeal of the three laws and sit with the central government in the interests of the farmers,” the BJP leader said. “The farm reform laws have not been implemented so far. When the Centre is saying that they can build a consensus by forming a 5-member committee, then why are farmer union leaders not talking? We will give sugarcane farmers state agreed price (SAP) of ₹450 per quintal if our party forms in Punjab,” he added.

Hindustan Times

26-08-2021

Chandigarh