Punjab: Farmer organisations on Friday held a show of strength on the death anniversary of farmer activist Shubkaran Singh. He died after being shot when Haryana Police stopped Punjab farmers’ march to Delhi at the interstate border of Khanauri on February 21 last year. Haryana Police had denied that the youth died due to the bullet fired by them. Punjab Police had registered a case of murder against unidentified persons. The show of strength came a day before the protesting farmers are scheduled to hold talks with representatives of the central government. The talks may be led by Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The Centre had formally invited the protesting farmer organisations for the second round of talks on Wednesday. The talks will be held at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Chandigarh at 6 pm. Farmers organised events to mark the death anniversary at Shambhu and Khanauri border with Haryana. Besides, a massive gathering was also organised at Shubkaran’s native village Baloh in Bathinda. Addressing farmers at Shambhu, Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) convener Sarwan Singh Pandher said 43 farmers have lost their lives during the ongoing protest. He said the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and KMM have finalised their respective 14-member delegations to participate in the talks and place their demands before the government. The delegations will be led by fasting farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Pandher. With limited progress on key issues in the last meeting held with Union minister Pralhad Joshi on February 14, the upcoming talks are seen as a crucial opportunity for the farmers.
Lift the blockade: Pandher
“We have a bright opportunity, as Chouhan has served as Madhya Pradesh chief minister for four terms before taking over as agriculture minister. He can better understand the plight of farmers,” Pandher said. Apart from a legal guarantee for crop MSP, farmers are demanding loan waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in power tariff, withdrawal of police cases and justice for victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Addressing the protesters, Pandher demanded removal of barricades at Shambhu and Khanauri borders. “We will pressurise the government to remove the blockade from both borders. We want traffic to run smoothly and trade to continue. Misinformation is being spread that farmers have blocked roads. We are not creating any obstruction and in tomorrow’s meeting, we will strongly put forward our demand to remove barricades from both borders,” Pandher said.
