A large number of city residents including children and school/college going students along with farmers’ and members belonging to different organizations today gheraoed the District Administrative Complex (DAC) here this morning.
The protesters on tractors, cars, bikes and on foot gathered outside the DAC in morning around 11am, and organised a sit-in dharna outside the complex till 3 pm Holding placards and posters, the protesting residents raised slogans against the centre government, demanding role back the three recently passed farm laws.
“A farmer is a magician who produces money from the mud”, reads a poster held by Gursharan Kaur, which grabbed everyone's eyeball. Showing resentment against the three contentious agricultural legislations, Gursharan said, as the protest is expanding every day, it’s disheartening to see our brothers and sisters, braving cold nights on the outskirts of Delhi to preserve our rights. “Even as we are forced to hit the roads, we won’t lose hope until the “Kala Kanoon” (black laws) are repealed”, she said.
Along with her hundreds of farmers from around the region, including women and children, gathered here to show solidarity with the farmers protesting at the Delhi borders.
A tractor rally was also carried out by the young generation of farmers in front of the DC office to draw support from the locals. With the heavy deployment of cops, the farmers made sure that their presence was felt on the city roads. Sloganeering against the Modi-led-BJP government, the farmers threatened to intensify their agitation regionally in the days to come.
Jarnail Singh, General Secretary, Bhartiya Kissan Union (BKU), Kadian stated that, different farm outfits including, BKU-Kadia, Doaba, Lakhowal, Jamhuru, Rajewal, Kissan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee, Punjab Kissan Union and others were present today to mark the occasion. Apart from that, member of Punjab Arthiya Association, Aganwadi workers union and other contractual workers union also lent their support to the farmers.
Citing the Supreme Court’s statements, that the laws are not beneficial for the farmers, Harnam Singh, senior vice president of the District Arthiya Association said, “disorganizing the existing Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) system will only privatize the mandis and the monopoly will remain only in the hands of the private dealers. Hence, to offer a better price to the farmers for their crops, the laws should be revoked. Mere announcing the amendments or written notifications won’t be enough the contest the laws, therefore, they need to be revoked in the parliament”.