Updated: September 11, 2020 2:09:54 am
The farmer agitators also blocked traffic on the national road for more than four hours, causing difficulties for thousands of commuters who used the village’s connecting roads to avoid Pipli. (Twiiter / CaptAjayYadav)
Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) and other farmers’ organizations blocked the national road in Pipli in Haryana’s Kurukshetra district on Thursday for nearly two hours after police refused to allow them to go to their meeting place to protest against the three ordinances. farmers of the Center, who claim to be “Anti-farmer”.
The police resorted to force on the agitators when they tried by force to move to the site of the demonstration by breaking a barricade. The farmers then blocked the national highway connecting Delhi to Ambala near Kurukshetra. The confrontation between the police and the peasants lasted from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. before the latter were finally allowed to rally in Pipli.
Now, protesting peasants have announced that they will block all roads in the state on September 20 if their demands are not met by then.
Farmers’ organizations are demanding legislation that guarantees the Minimum Support Price (MSP) following three ordinances introduced by the central government: the Trade in Agricultural Products and Trade (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance and the Farmers Agreement (Empowerment and Protection) on Agricultural Services and Prices Guarantee Ordinance, 2020, and an amendment to the Essential Products Act, 1955. The ruling BJP has launched a campaign in support of the ordinances, calling them “reforms” in the agricultural sector.
जीन्स और टी शर्ट कब से हो गई हरियाणा पुलिस की वर्दी?
देश के अन्नदाता पर बिना वर्दी के लाठियाँ बरसाने वाले ये कौन लोग हैं?
बुजुर्गों पर लाठियाँ बरसा रहे ये गुंडे हैं कौन?
क्या खट्टर-चौटाला जवाब देंगे?# कुरुक्षेत्र_की_रण pic.twitter.com/eRkL1W04ZN
– Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) September 10, 2020
The administration had asked farmers not to hold the rally while citing the increase in Covid-19 cases, while agricultural bodies stood firm saying that political parties were also allowed to perform functions. To prevent the movement of farmers to Pipli, the police had installed nakas throughout the state. Peasant leaders say the agitators were detained in various places in the state. Meham’s independent MLA Balraj Kundu and his supporters were detained in Rohtak.
Despite that, a large number of farmers managed to reach Pipli. Police say “soft force” was used when farmers tried to move to the rally site. However, Gurnam Singh Chaduni from BKU said: “I don’t know exactly how many farmers were injured in the lathicharge load, but I myself saw 2-3 farmers with head injuries and others with leg injuries.”
Meanwhile, farmers who were detained almost half a kilometer from the rally site gathered on the national highway. “With the presence of a large number of farmers, the road was blocked,” Chaduni told The Indian Express.
Chaduni, who had gone into hiding two days ago to avoid arrest, appeared to address the peasants who were sitting on the national highway. The agitators demanded the immediate release of the farmers detained by the police and the removal of all the nakas. Kurukshetra Deputy Commissioner Sharandeep Kaur Brar and SP Atha Modi arrived at the scene to persuade farmers to open the road.
“The administration agreed to accept our two demands; release of detainees by police and withdrawal of nakas. The administration sealed Pipli Mandi, but then agreed to allow the farmers to hold their demonstration there, ”said Chaduni. The agitators have said that they will sit in dharnas from September 15 for five days if the government does not invite them to dialogue or accept their demands before September 14.
Kurukshetra SP Astha Modi told The Indian Express that no arrests have been made so far, but that FIRs will be registered wherever the provisions of the law are violated. When asked about the farmers’ claim of lathicharge cargo, he said: “It was not a lathicharge cargo. They tried to break barricades in Pipli Chowk that were installed to prevent their movement towards mandi. Three or four tractor cars arrived and tried to damage the barricades. They tried to beat the policemen and then attacked the barricades to cross the police naka. The agitators stopped there and were pushed back. They threw stones at us. “He further claimed that the rioters tried to run over the police officers and the subdivision magistrate with a tractor in Shahabad.
Former Prime Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Head of Congress Haryana Kumari Selja, Party Leader Randeep Singh Surjewala, INLD Leader Abhay Chautala and Swaraj India Leader Yogendra Yadav criticized the government for the use of force. against agitating farmers.
Lathicharge is brutal, says Digvijay Chautala
Chandigarh: The younger brother of Haryana MP CM Dushyant Chautala and senior leader of the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) Digvijay Chautala on Thursday condemned the use of force by the police to agitate farmers in Pipli (Kurkshetra) and demanded an investigation into the incident.
JJP is a partner in the Haryana government alliance led by Manohar Lal Khatter. Digvijay currently leads JJP’s student wing. Speaking to The Indian Express, he said he would discuss the matter with the CM and the senior vice minister. “Using lathicharge is brutal, especially in an older person, as the photos shown in the media show. It has hurt the feelings of farmers in general and we understand their pain. “-ENS
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