As the farmers’ protests enter the third day, the Bharatiya Kisan Union-Ugrahan (BKU-Ugrahan) is planning to block trains in Punjab today. Meanwhile, on Thursday evening (15th February), three Union ministers will meet with farmer leaders to discuss their demands.
BKU (Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan said, “We stand with them in solidarity. To prove it, our supporters will hold rail roko (stop trains) at as many places as we can. The organisation will block rail tracks in Punjab from 12 PM to 4 PM on Thursday, a day before they are set to hold a nationwide strike scheduled for 16th February.
According to reports, about ten protest sites have been finalised for the rail roko protest, in which the BKU Ugrahan and BKU Dakaunda (Dhaner faction) would participate together, with more locations expected to be added by the evening.
The sites marked for the rail roko protest are Rajpura, Sunam (near the Shambu and Khanauri borders, respectively), Jethuke hamlet in Bathinda, Moga, Mansa, Malaut, Valla railway crossing in Amritsar, Barnala, Sangrur, and Budhlada. The BKU (Ugrahan) leader said that this will affect the Amritsar-Jalandhar-Delhi line, the Mansa-Bathinda-Delhi line, the Ludhiana-Ferozepur line, and many more areas.
Meanwhile, a panel of three Union ministers will meet with protesting farmer leaders in Chandigarh on Thursday, February 15. Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai will meet with farmer leaders at 5 PM in Punjab’s capital to discuss their many demands, including a law ensuring a minimum support price for crops.
When asked about Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait’s announcement of ‘Bharat Bandh’ on February 16, BJP leader Dilip Ghosh said, “PM Modi is continuously working towards helping the farmers and improving their situations. Fertiliser prices have been reduced, and ‘Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)’ has been launched. Farmers are happy all over the country. They (referring to Tikait) are doing this only to show off their leadership.”
VIDEO | Here’s what BJP leader @DilipGhoshBJP said when asked about Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait’s announcement of ‘Bharat Bandh’ on February 16.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 15, 2024
“PM Modi is continuously working towards helping the farmers and improving their situations. Fertilizer prices have… pic.twitter.com/ODTFuY26zh
On Wednesday, the government invited farmer representatives to a third round of talks in a week, after two previous meetings on 8th and 12th February remained inconclusive. The offer for talks came as protesting farmers stayed at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders of Punjab and Haryana to march to Delhi to pressurise the Centre to fulfil their demands.
Speaking about the scheduled meeting with the ministers, Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee General Secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher on Wednesday said that the meeting with the Centre will be held tomorrow at 5 PM and the farmers want to resolve all issues peacefully. “Even in this position, we are thinking that we will not leave the way of talks. If the Centre comes up with a solution, then we are ready. We don’t want any kind of conflict. We want to resolve all issues through dialogue. The meeting with the Centre will be held at 5 pm tomorrow. We are saying again, that tomorrow also we will sit peacefully,” he said.
“…We are going to attend the meeting in a completely positive mood today and we have full confidence that a positive solution will emerge from this meeting…” Pandher added.
#WATCH | On the meeting with ministers today, General Secretary of Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Sarvan Singh Pandher says, "…We are going to attend the meeting in a completely positive mood today and we have full confidence that a positive solution will emerge from… pic.twitter.com/3DV4dLZZI0
— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2024
Meanwhile, SKM Punjab has said that they will hold protests at toll plazas for three hours on 15th February from 11 am to 1 PM. Manjit Singh Dhaner, President of BKU Dakaunda has informed that this act is a form of protest against the police action of Haryana against protesting farmers at Shambhu and Khanauri (Dhaner).
Balbir Singh Rajewal, state president of BKU (Rajewal), a constituent of SKM, said “The central government is projecting that the farmer unions in Punjab are divided, but the reality is that we all rally behind each other when it comes to the rights of farmers. The call to make tolls across the state free for three hours is completely in solidarity with agitating farmers. If required, we will intensify our support.”
Farmers protest and their demands
On Tuesday (13th February), a large number of farmers marched towards the national capital. In addition to drafting a law on MSP, the protesting farmers undertaking the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march have been demanding that India should quit the World Trade Organisation (WTO), halt trade agreements with other nations, and a monthly pension of Rs 10,000 to farmers who attain the age of 60 years among others. The protest has been called by Sanyukt Kisan Morcha and Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, led by farmer union leaders Jagjeet Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher.
