Farmers To Stage 'Rail Roko' Protest In Punjab Tomorrow Amid Ongoing Agitation Over Demands

Representational Image. (ANI)

Farmers Protest: Stepping up their agitation against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government over several demands, farmers are set to stage a ‘Rail Roko’ protest in Punjab on Wednesday. This comes days after a 'Jathha' of 101 farmers, blocked by the police at the Shambhu border due to security concerns, was withdrawn.

As the farmers 'Dilli Chalo March' was withdrawn, Pandher had claimed that 17 farmers were injured after the police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters at the Shambhu Border. He further alleged that several farmers are in serious condition and accused the authorities of negligence in providing treatment at the hospital.

As part of the ongoing protest, Pandher on Tuesday called for a 'Rail Roko' on Wednesday in Punjab for three hours starting from 12 noon. He appealed to the people of Punjab to participate in the protest. "Tomorrow we will conduct Rail Roko in Punjab; I urge everyone to stop railways from 12 to 3 PM," Pandher told ANI.

Further appealing to everyone to support farmers' protests, he said, "Support farmers' protests more and more.... The Punjabis need to fight as one." He accused the central government of not resolving the issue. "All unions are trying to protest in a uniform manner... Our protest is not against state government," the farmer leader further stated.

When asked about Jagjit Singh Dallewal's hunger strike, Pandher said that the Dallewal's health condition is critical. "Dallewal's condition is critical; if anything happens, then the central government will be responsible for it," Pandher cautioned.

Reportedly, the ongoing farmer protests have entered their 309th day. "There is pressure from 140 crore Indians, 3 crore Punjabis, and 2.5 crore Haryanvis on the Modi government... We have 12 demands," he stated. "The singer of Punjab made this issue a people's movement," he added.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Tuesday morning moved an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha to discuss the ongoing hunger strike by farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, which has entered its 21st day.

"Mr. Dallewal, the president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur), is in critical condition, with medical experts advising immediate hospitalisation due to his deteriorating health. Despite this he has refused medical intervention, insisting on continuing his hunger strike for the cause of farmers," the Lok Sabha MP said in his notice. He further urged the central government to take 'immediate' action and engage with the farmers' representatives in a 'meaningful' dialogue.

Besides a legal guarantee on MSP for crops, the farmers are demanding a debt waiver, a pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in the electricity tariff, the withdrawal of police cases, and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21 are also part of their demands.

(With ANI Inputs)