Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Bathinda, Members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), which has declared a four-day-long protest in the state against the land acquisition ordinance, held protests in Sangrur and Bathinda.
In Sangrur, the protesters, led by state president of the union Joginder Ugrahan, burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and accused him of taking anti-farmer steps. Ugrahan said that their agitation would continue till the union government accepts the demand of amending the land acquisition bill.
“By bringing in the black law, the Modi government at the Centre has shoed its anti-farmer mindset, but this will not be tolerated,” he said, adding, “In the first phase, the agitation will be launched at all district headquarters of the state, then the farmers will hold a protest in Delhi.”
He also slammed the union government for stopping the Food Corporation of India (FCI) from procuring foodgrains from the grain markets of Punjab.
“The Centre’s move of stopping procurement of foodgrains from the states like Punjab could prove to be very harmful for farmers of the state”, he said, adding, “The farmers will not tolerate this injustice as they could be denied appropriate prices of their crops”.
Meanwhile, farmers also staged a protest against the changes in the land acquisition bill and other issues. General secretary of the union Sukhdev Singh Khokarikalan said that the changes made by the Central government in the bill are anti-farmer and the union would not accept these at any cost. The farmers also demanded implementation of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission on the minimum support price of agricultural crops.
