E-Paper
Stopped from reaching PM’s rally, farmers stage dharna on roads
Over 6,000 police personnel, including paramilitary forces, were deployed in Patiala district. Soil-laden trucks were stationed on the roads leading to the city to stop farmers from reaching the PM’s rally venue.
Hundreds of farmers, who have been protesting at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, were not allowed to march towards the Polo Ground where PM Modi addressed his party’s election rally on Thursday. The farmers tried reaching there through different routes, but were stopped outside the city by the Punjab Police.
Over 6,000 police personnel – including paramilitary forces – were deployed in the district. Soil-laden trucks were stationed on the roads leading to the city to stop farmers at any cost.
After being stopped, the farmers staged sit-ins on different roads leading to the venue. This resulted in massive traffic jams. Commuters had to face a tough time as they were struggling to make detours through villages to reach their destinations. No untoward incident was reported during the protests.
The roads which saw protests were on the routes of Rajpura, Pehowa, Samana, Nabha, Sangrur and Sirhind. Among the protesters were the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella group of 32 farmer unions, the SKM (non-political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KKM).
Farmers were out to show black flags and question PM Modi over various pending demands, including a legal guarantee on the minimum support price and the recent death of a young farmer, Shubh Karan Singh.
Raminder Patiala, member of the SKM’s national coordination committee, said, “The deployment of thousands of police personnel shows that PM Modi can’t face farmers. This is a moral defeat for PM Modi.”
He added that the PM had not done enough for the farmers, therefore, he was not ready to face the farmers.
Addressing the protesters at Dhareri Jattan toll plaza on the Rajpura road, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said, “The way farmers were stopped shows that the PM doesn’t believe in democracy. We only wanted to question PM Modi on farmer’s issues.”
Pandher added that attempts were being made by BJP candidates to instigate protesting farmers sheerly to derail the ongoing farmers’ movement.
Late in the evening, the farmers marched back to Shambhu and Khanauri borders where the protest has been going on since February 13 this year. With this, all routes were cleared.
