E-Paper
Farmers protest against Barnala sarpanch for joining BJP
Farmers protest at the village gurdwara in Barnala saw good participation; they condemned the sarpanch for going to the BJP, even as farmers were boycotting it
Barnala A day after Chananwal village sarpanch, Buta Singh, and three panchayat members, along with others, joined the BJP in Chandigarh on Monday, irked farmers and village residents, in their hundreds, protested against him at the village gurdwara. Amid deployment of heavy police force, they raised slogans against the sarpanch and the saffron party. The protesters included members of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU Kadian) and BKU (Rajewal).
Gurjant Singh, a former sarpanch, said residents felt humiliated as the sarpanch had back-stabbed farmers, and hurt their agitation. “We are farmers first and then village residents. Buta Singh and his associates have joined the same party, which passed the three black laws, and against which a stir has been on for nine months,” he added.
The protesters also resolved that Buta Singh be ex-communicated and also appealed to the Gram Sabha to remove him from the post. “Over 600 farmers have sacrificed their lives in the farm protest at the borders of Delhi for months. Following a call of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), people are boycotting BJP in villages, but Buta has joined the same party. He has no sympathy with the farmer agitation and instead of any regret, he refused to join today’s assembly,” the resolution reads.
BKU (Kadian) leader Dalvir Singh said farmer unions and locals had decided to boycott Buta and others who had joined the saffron party. Sarpanch Buta did not respond to repeated calls on his mobile.
