Farmers intensify stir, warn of blocking national highway
3,000 farmers from the state to join protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi today
KARNAL: In a bid to put pressure on the government to fulfil their demands, farmer unions on Wednesday said as many as 3,000 farmers from the state will join a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Thursday morning.
“More than 3,000 farmers from five states, including Haryana, will reach Delhi to participate in one-day protest at Jantar Mantar. Farmers from Uttar Pradesh, Himachal, Punjab and Uttarkhand will also join the protest,” said Haryana Bharatiya Kisan Union president Ratan Mann.
“While some farmers will reach by trains, those from Jind, Kaithal, Sirsa and Ambala districts will arrive in their own vehicles,” he added.
He said besides leaders from the five states, national-level farmer leaders will also address the gathering and take a decision on further course of action.
Another farmers’ group from the state, led by Rastriya Kisan Sangh leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni, said they are planning to block all the national highways of the state on June 16.
They have also threatened to intensify the agitation post June 19. “Our main demands, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission and a complete loan waiver, are old. We will now start a fresh agitation from June 16 by blocking the highways at several locations in Kurukshetra, Ambala, Sirsa, Hisar and Kaithal districts,” said Rashtriya Kisan Maha Sangh core committee member Chaduni.
He claimed that farmers from northern districts will reach at Mohra village in Ambala district on June 16 and block the national highway for three hours. CONGRESS TO START SIMILAR AGITATIONS While farmer leaders have denied support from any political party, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had said they will launch similar protests on June 16 from Kurukshetra by holding kisan panchayats in parts of the state.
Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar has announced to launch a ‘satyagrah’ for farmers on June 18 from Dadri and later to stage a protest in Karnal and other districts of the state.
Another farmers’ group, All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), has also announced that it will launch an agitation on the farmers’ issue. AIKS vice-president Inderjit Singh accused the BJP governments of neglecting farmers and not fulfilling their long pending demands of the Swaminathan Commission and loan waiver.
We will start a fresh agitation from June 16 by blocking national highways at several locations in Kurukshetra, Ambala, Sirsa, Hisar and Kaithal districts. GURNAM SINGH CHADUNI, Rashtriya Kisan Maha Sangh leader