Punjab farm unions condemn use of force

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 26

Punjab farmers on Thursday removed boulders and trucks to make way into Haryana. All political parties in Punjab have lent support to the protesting farmers, providing vehicles and ration. Inside Haryana, despite police resistance, the farmers managed to proceed towards Delhi. “Such brutal use of force against the farmers is condemnable,” said JS Patiala, general secretary of the BKU-Dakaunda.

MLAs lend support

A number of Pb Cong MLAs came on the roads in support of the farmers. Gidderbaha MLA Raja Warring and his supporters were taken in preventive custody at Ratia as he tried to enter Haryana from the Mansa side on a tractor-trailer.

Sources said about 3 lakh protesters, including 25,000 women, were on their way to Delhi. The BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), Punjab’s largest kisan union, has mobilised 1.95 lakh farmers for the protest march. At Khanauri and Dabwali, the farmers’ movement was obstructed. Subsequently, Ugrahan group activists pitched tents and launched protests. At Khanauri, help came from Haryana farmers who removed mounds of sand raised by the police. Union leader Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said they would breach police barricades on Friday to reach Delhi. All-India Kisan Sabha chief PS Bhangu, who led a protest at the Shambhu barrier, said they were gearing up to face resistance at the Delhi border. “Even in the face of resistance, our protest will remain peaceful,” he said. Union leaders Jhanda Singh Jethuke of the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) and Dr Darshan Pal of the Krantikari Kisan Union appealed to the farmers to remain peaceful.