Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers defer ‘rail roko’ stir after assurance of meeting with Channi

The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMC) on Thursday deferred its plan to shift its protests from outside deputy commissioner (DC) offices to railway tracks in Punjab after getting an assurance of a meeting with the chief minister.Leaders of the KMC, which has a considerable hold in the Majha and some districts of Malwa, had announced to launch “rail roko” agitation in Punjab if their demands were not met till September 30. On Thursday, farmers gathered outside the Amritsar DC office to press for their demands, including loan waiver. The farmers were called for a meeting with Amritsar DC Gurpreet Singh Khaira and inspector general (IG), border range, SPS Parmar. “During the meeting, the IG informed deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa about our demands. The IG also assured us that the government was willing to listing to our demands. We have also been assured of a meeting with CM Charanjit Singh Channi within the next 20 days,” said KMC’s general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher. The meeting was also attended by KMC president Satnam Singh Pannu. Pandher said: “If our demands are not met at a meeting with the CM, we will launch our rail roko stir.”The demands include repeal of three farm laws, a new law ensuring minimum support price (MSP) of 23 crops, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, waiving of farmers’ debt, and government jobs and compensation of ₹5 lakh to the families of farmers who died during the agitation at the Delhi border.

Hindustan Times

01-10-2021

Chandigarh