On May 16, farmers at Hisar in Haryana got violent and tried to disrupt a Covid-19 facility inauguration event attended by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. On-ground visuals showed that these protesting ‘farmers’ charged at police personnel present near the event location which resulted in a lathi-charge by police.
As per reports, 20 police officers were said to be injured out of which 5 are women cops. Five vehicles were also reportedly damaged by the farmers in the incident. The farmers also attacked DSP Abhimanyu, leaving him seriously injured.
Hisar police, in turn, filed cases on farmers for clashing with cops in Hisar.
BKU leader instigates ‘farmers’ asks them to ‘gherao the police’
Despite knowing that the ‘farmers’ were in the wrong, a BKU leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni on Thursday tried to instigate them further by urging them to gherao the Hisar police commissioner’s office on May 24, if the state government does not take back the FIRs filed against them.
Directly giving a call to further escalate violence, Gurnam Singh Chaduni said: “We were not been told that a case has been filed against us. We have asked cases to be filed against those police officers who trashed us, farmers, people could have died. If it is a matter of COVID violation, the govt has violated COVID guidelines and police officers should be booked for it”.
He further added: “If the govt does not listen to these demands, on May 24, we have decided to protest against the Hisar police commissioner at Kranti Mann park at 10 AM. People from surrounding 4-5 districts must assemble there,” said Chaduni. The BKU leader has given several instigating calls – such as asking farmers to not allow Haryana CM to hold a Mahapanchayat which led to violence and to gherao Delhi police offices after Republic Day violence.
Interestingly, ‘Gherao’ seems to be Haryana Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni’s favourite modus operandi. In February also he had advised ‘farmers’ to ‘gherao’ Delhi Police personnel if they came to their villages to make arrests. He had virtually asked people to hold policemen hostage while referring to the action taken by the Delhi Police in retaliation to the violence during the farmers’ tractor rally in the national capital on Republic Day.
How BKU has been using the ‘farmers’ protest for own political gains
It is pertinent to mention here that the months-long ‘farmers’ protest against the central government’s three farm laws was spearheaded by none other than the chief of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), Rakesh Tikait. Rakesh Tikait, who was a forgotten man until the current protests were launched, has only used the farmer’s agitation as a tool to, resurrect his political career, even if, in the process, he had to mastermind farmer tractor rally that led to an insurrection on 26th January, he had no qualms in doing so.
‘Farmers’ pelt stones, attack police personnel in Hisar, Haryana
On May 16 (Sunday), protesting farmers moved from the border areas to Haryana’s COVID-19 care centre in Hisar where Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was inaugurating the Chaudhary Devi Lal Sanjivani Hospital which has been temporarily constructed at the OP Jindal Modern School.
As per reports, a huge crowd gathered at the site all of a sudden charging at the security forces which resulted in a clash. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha protesting on the border had also backed the protest.
This is not the first time that the protesters attacked an event attended by Haryana Chief Minister. They have warned that unless the new farm laws are not scrapped, the protests will not cease.
