Ruchika M. Khanna
Tribune news service
Chandigarh, November 21.
Farmers unions protesting in Punjab have decided to allow all state trains to pass through from Monday night. However, trains have only been allowed for 15 days.
A decision to this effect was made at the meeting of 30 farmers’ unions held here on Saturday morning. It has been decided that they will allow all trains to pass for only 15 days, giving this time to the BJP-led central government to start talks with them on the three controversial farm laws passed by Parliament in September.
Unions will focus their protests outside the residences of BJP leaders and company-owned businesses, as they prepare for their protest in Delhi on November 26-27.
Welcoming the decision, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said that he urged the Center to resume rail services to Punjab immediately.
I had a fruitful meeting with Kisan Unions. Happy to share that as of November 23 evening, Kisan Unions has decided to end the rail blockades for 15 days. I welcome this step as it will restore normalcy to our economy. I urge the central government to resume rail services to Punjab immediately. pic.twitter.com/shmIZPHFR0
– Captain Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) November 21, 2020
Train services in the state have been suspended for nearly two months. Before, farmers protested on the railroad tracks, and it was only in late October that they allowed freight trains to pass through the state.
The trains were allowed to operate for two days, before the Railroad Board, again, refused to resume services until protesting farmers vacated all railroad properties and passenger trains were also allowed to operate.
Interestingly, it emerged that the Kirti Kisan Union disagreed with the decision to move the protest off the rail ground and decided to stay away from the meeting with the Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, scheduled for later in the day.
Apart from the Kirti Kisan Union, the other 29 unions later met with the Chief Minister and informed him of their decision to stop the protest on the railway grounds. They are also known to have discussed other issues with the CM, such as the subsidy for stubble handling machines, the release of quotas for sugarcane growers, etc. The CM is known to have assured them that these issues will be resolved as soon as possible.
Sources said the union felt that the decision to stop the upheaval on the train tracks would make farmers look weak and bow to pressure from the BJP-led central government. However, the other unions overruled his objection saying that he was allowing the Center to financially block the state and that they could not afford to turn industry and commerce against him.
