Farmers’ anger forces Sampla to return

Our Correspondent

Phagwara, July 24

As soon as the news of the arrival of former Union Minister and National SC Commission chairman Vijay Sampla spread, irate farmers gathered at the spot where he was to inaugurate a showroom at Satnampura in Phagwara on Saturday.

BJP leader Balbhadhar Sein Duggal had opened a new sanitary showroom, which was to be inaugurated by Sampla, but on hearing the news, farmers got provoked and started gathering under the banner of Bhartiya Kisan Union, Doaba. They started raising slogans 100 meters away from the venue and warned that they would not allow BJP leaders to work until the Union Government solved their problem.

The protest took an ugly turn so much that farmers and BJP leaders came face to face and started tearing down the tents set up for the function. Though SP Phagwara Sarabjit Singh Wahia, DSP Paramjit Singh, DSP Babandeep Singh were present with a posse of police, farmers insisted that they had come to oppose the chairman and the farmers would return only after removing the tents. The police tried stopping both sides, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, Senior Superintendent of the Police, Kapurthala, Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh, reached and spoke to both parties and farmers’ leaders who were adamant on taking down the tents. Some farmers were adamant but farmers ended their dharna after a message from Satnam Singh Sahni, general secretary, Bhartiya Kisan Union, Doaba.

Farmers, however, warned that now wherever BJP leaders would go for ceremonies or inaugurations, they would be strongly opposed. Meanwhile, it was learnt that Sampla was forced to return from a short distance from the venue without inaugurating the shop on the advice of senior cops.