On campaign trail, BJP, AAP leaders face farmers’ ire
BATHINDA : After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, campaigners of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have started finding themselves at the receiving end of farmers’ anger while touring Lok Sabha constituencies of Bathinda and Faridkot in the run-up to the general election.
Electioneering by BJP candidate from Faridkot Hans Raj Hans and AAP nominee from Bathinda Gurmeet Khudian is witnessing protests by villagers for being ‘anti-farmers’.
Constituents of the parallel factions of the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha have given a call to oppose the BJP leaders’ election programmes to register a protest against Narendra Modirun central government’s failure to accept farmers’ demand, including to give a legal guarantee on the purchase of various crops and farm loan waiver.
Irked with AAP over delay in assessment of crop assessment
Now, villagers have started holding a protest against the electioneering of the AAP nominee from Bathinda Gurmeet Singh Khudian, who is also the state agriculture minister, for the delay in the assessment of the loss of wheat crop due to a hailstorm that struck several villages in the first week of March.
At least three incidents of protest against Khudian were reported in Bathinda city and a couple of villages in the constituency in the last week.
So far Khudian has not issued a statement on the protests against his electioneering.
On Thursday, a campaigning team led by Khudian’s son Ameet Khudian was obstructed at Karamgarh Sattran village and Mehma Bhagwana villages.
Agitated farmers did not allow associates of the AAP candidate to hold election meetings with the villagers.
They said the AAP nominee for the LS constituency failed as agriculture minister to address the complaints of the villagers.
Ameet tried to pacify the villagers, but the protesters did not let him hold electioneering in the two villages.
Leader of Bathinda district unit of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) Jasvir Singh said on Friday that farmers are also opposing Khudian’s election programme as the state government has not given any financial compensation to villagers, who lost dozens of livestock at Raike Kalan and Sooch villages due to multiple reasons in January this year. “Khudian also holds the animal husbandry portfolio, and he has not done anything for the dairy farmers whose cattle died due to the negligence of the department. Our jathebandi (association) demands compensation for damage done to poultry farms and sheds at these units during a tornado in Bathinda but the AAP government has ignored it so far,” he added.
Ugrahan faction of the BKU has been holding a dharna outside the Bathinda district administrative complex since April 4 against a delay in assuring due compensation to farmers whose land is required for the acquisition of an underground gas pipeline project. Farmers had protested Khudian’s visit to the judicial complex on Tuesday.