Amritsar: Farmers burn copies of govt policies

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 13

Farmers burnt copies of government’s alleged corporate-friendly policies which were against their interest in the Lohri bonfire on Friday.

Members of the Kisan Majdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC), led by general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher, held a protest at Deputy Commissioner’s Office and toll plazas here.

On the 49th day of the agitation today, the agitators celebrated “Sangharshi” Lohri by lighting a flame against the “pro-corporate” policies of the governments.

Union’s district leaders Baldev Singh Bagga, Savinder Singh and others said the legendary character in Punjab history Dullah Bhatti had fought against the oppression of the government of those times and the agitation was relevant today too. There is no difference in the behaviour of the governments, they said.

Farmer leader Gurlal Singh Mann said their agitation was being supported by a large number of groups. He said both the state and Centre shrugged away from their responsibility to improve income of farmers and farm labourers.

He said all debts of farmers and labourers should be waived off, fair price to farmers’ crops and 365-day employment should be ensured, surplus lands should be distributed equally among farmers and labourers. An amendment made regarding Mustarka owner lands should be withdrawn and all other demands of the movement should be accepted immediately, they demanded.

Meanwhile, members of the KMSC burnt copies of alleged anti-farmers and lobourers policies of the Centre and the state government in Tarn Taran too. They have been holding a “Pakka Morcha” outside the District Administrative Complex (DAC) in Tarn Taran for the past 49 days and staging dharas at Usman toll plaza and Mannan villages for the past 29 days.

District president Satnam Singh Manochahal, Harjinder Singh Shakri, Jarnail Singh Noordi and other leaders of the KMSC, in their address, said the wrong policies of the Center and the state had badly ruined the economy of the country which had made people jobless and forced farmers to end their lives.

The leaders took a note of giving the control of public sector institutions such as Railways, LIC, air services, banking, electricity, education, health, besides others, to the corporate sector. They said due to this, youth was facing problems such as unemployment, inflation and corruption. The leaders demanded that debt on farmers should be also be waived off.

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