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Assembly elections: SSM in poll fray, while SKM tied up in legal wrangles
While SSM is gearing up to fight assembly elections in Punjab, its non-political allies from SKM have started receiving summons to appear before the court in connection with old cases.
While Sanyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM) is gearing up to fight assembly elections, its non-political allies from the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) have started receiving summons to appear before the court in connection with old cases.
As many as 18 members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Kadian), including union’s president Harmeet Singh Kadian, have sought bail from a Kurukshetra court on January 11 after being summoned to appear in a local court for a hearing in connection with rioting, unlawful assembly and posing danger to commuters in a public way.
Kadian said the Haryana government was not fulfilling its promise of cancelling all pending cases against the farmers.
“We have started receiving summons from the court in connection with the cases registered against us under Sections 147, 149, 283, 341, 188 and 120-B of the IPC at the Thanesar police station,” he said.
Kadian, who had on December 27 declared that his union will remain a pressure group and will not participate in assembly elections, said, “Whom shall we trust. When the Prime Minister has withdrawn the law, it was declared that all cases against farmers will be cancelled, but nothing has happened. The Haryana government has not recognised the list of 136 farmers of Haryana who laid down their lives while protesting against the three farm laws,” Kadian said.
Meanwhile, Kirti Kisan Union vice-president Rajinder Singh Deep Singh Wala accused farm leader Balbir Singh Rajewal and other leaders of causing a dent in the image of the SKM for fulfilling their political aspirations. He said now the opposition parties are branding the farmer struggle as a political gimmick and using the cases as arm-twisting measures to pressure the government.
Farm unions to protest against PM’s visit
Around 23 farmer unions of Punjab under the banner of the SKM have decided to protest against the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to address multiple rallies in the state on February 14, 16 and 17.
“We will be burning effigies of the PM at the village level on February 14, besides on February 16 protests will be held at the tehsil level across the state,” said Gurpreet Singh, press secretary, Dakonda.
