7 farmer unions launch protest

Sukhmeet Bhasin
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, January 18

On the call of the Joint Kisan Karza Mukti Morcha, seven farmer unions on Friday staged a protest outside the District Administrative Complex (DAC) and raised slogans against the Union and state government over ‘anti-farmer’ policies.

Farmer leaders condemned the state government for ‘running away’ from their complete loan waiver promise by giving just a little relief to farmers.

They also passed a resolution and criticised the state government’s decision to terminate five teacher union leaders and demanded that the decision should be taken back.

A delegation of farmers, which included BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) state president Jhanda Singh Jethuke, district president Shingara Singh Mann, BKU (Dakonda) leader Baldev Singh Bhairupa, BKU (Krantikari) leader Proshotam Mehraj, Kirti Kisan Union convener Amarjit Singh Honey, Krantikari Kisan Union leader Jagdish Singh and others met Deputy Commissioner Praneet and gave him a memorandum addressed to the Union and state government.

While addressing the protest, the leaders alleged that the Punjab and Union government had ignored their long-pending demands and also announced that to get their demands fulfilled, they have now made a plan to gherao the Punjab National Bank’s zonal office in Ludhiana for indefinite time on February 18.

They demanded that the Union and state government should give complete loan wavier to the farmers who are not in a position to repay their loans, Rs 2 lakh loan-waiver for 5-acre land holder should be on all farmers without any condition, signed blank cheque or pre-notes taken by the banks and commission agents before giving them loan should be returned, court cases going on regarding cheque bounce should be taken back, kurki of land or houses of farmers against the loan amount should be stopped and arresting of farmers or interference of police and photo on defaulter lists at banks should be banned.

Further, they also demanded that families of farmers who committed suicide due to debt family should be given Rs 10 lakh compensation, one government job and complete loan waiver.

They asked that the MSP should be kept as per the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report to take out farmers from the debt cycle. Even labourers and farmers should be given pulses at subsidised rates on economic basis.

Moreover, they also stated that cases and challans against the farmers over stubble burning should be withdrawn and they demanded that the Punjab Public and Private Property Damage Prevention Act 2016 should be cancelled.

Demands

They demanded that the Union and state government should give complete loan wavier to the farmers who are not in a position to repay their loans, Rs 2 lakh loan-waiver for 5-acre land holder should be on all farmers without any condition, signed blank cheque or pre-notes taken by the banks and commission agents before giving them loan should be returned, court cases going on regarding cheque bounce should be taken back, kurki of land or houses of farmers against the loan amount should be stopped and arresting of farmers or interference of police and photo on defaulter lists at banks should be banned.