Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 25
Farmers in Punjab took to the streets on Friday and held protests at 125 sites against the three agricultural bills passed by Parliament, which they called “black laws.” They blocked roads, including highways, to pressure the Center to withdraw the legislation, which has yet to win approval from the president.
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Punjabi folk singers in dharnas
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Punjabi singers, including Moosewala, Harbhajan Mann and Ranjit Bawa, back the farmers
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Fight on the Shambhu barrier between radicals and YC workers led by Nirbhay S Milti
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Akali ex-MLA Sarabjit Makkar leaves protest site as farmers question her party’s position
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Bhagwant Mann, head of the Punjab AAP and MP from Sangrur, joins protesters in Bhawanigarh
With farmers busy on the railroad tracks, the supply of basic goods suffered. Stores, commercial establishments and vegetable markets remained closed in several places.
At least 31 agricultural organizations from Punjab, including Bharti Kisan Union Krantikari, Kirti Kisan Union, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee and BKU (Lakhowal), participated in the national bandh. The Malwa belt comprising the Bathinda, Patiala, Ludhiana, Moga, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Barnala, Faridkot, Muktsar and Mansa areas saw thousands of farmers participate in the dharnas. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Congress held parallel protests in various places.
The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee announced that the ‘rail roko’ uproar against farm laws had lasted until September 29.
Bhagwant Mann, head of the Punjab AAP and deputy from Sangrur, joined the protesters in Bhawanigarh. “I am here as a farmer. People have started to raise their voices. It is a good sign for democracy, ”he said. Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala sat on a dharna in Mansa. He was accompanied by another singer Amrit Mann.
Folk singers Harbhajan Mann, Tarsem Jassar, Ranjit Bawa, Kulwinder Billa, and Harjit Harman also sat on a dharna. “The government should have consulted the farmers about the bills,” argued Bawa. There was a fight on the Shambhu barrier between a group of radicals and workers from the Youth Congress led by Nirbhay Singh Milti. In Jalandhar, former Akali MLA Sarabjit Makkar had to leave the protest site when a group of farmers pointed out that his party leadership had initially supported the contentious bills.
It will benefit marginal farmers
For the first time in decades, the Center has crafted laws that will benefit small farmers and marginal workers… but the Opposition is misleading them. – Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
Tthey have no faith in the government
A faulty GST destroyed MSMEs. The new farm laws will enslave farmers. One thing is clear after talking to the farmers: they don’t have a shred of faith in the Modi government. – Rahul Gandhi, Congress Leader
