Farmers begin a sit-in at Sirsa after talks fail
Scores of farmers attended a ‘mahapanchayat’ in Sirsa on Saturday, demanding the release of five farmers who were arrested under sedition charges for allegedly attacking Haryana assembly’s deputy speaker Ranbir Gangwa on July 11. Farmers sat on an indefinite dharna at the mini-secretariat in Sirsa after talks with the district administration failed.
According to the police, the entire Sirsa was converted into a cantonment with heavy deployment of Haryana Police personnel and paramilitary forces to stop farmers from breaking law and order while the local administration had imposed Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CRPC) to prohibit the assembly of four or more people.
Police had barricaded loads leading to Shahid Bhagat Singh stadium, but farmers managed to reach the mahapanchayat venue by removing barricades.
Addressing the mahapanchayat and reacting on sedition charges slapped against over 100 farmers, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said the Supreme Court has questioned the relevance of sedition law, describing it as ‘colonial’, but the Haryana government has imposed the ‘colonial law’ on farmers to stop the dissent.
Attacking the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government
ROHTAK:
over the three farm laws, Tikait alleged the Centre was being run by “corporate companies”. “Some BJP workers have the misconception that their party is in power at the Centre. The Modi government is being run by big corporate companies and that’s why it has failed to hold dialogues with farmers protesting against three farm laws...,” Tikait added.
“We will hold a mahapanchayat in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut on September 5 to launch a mission against the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab, where assembly polls are due,” he said.
Earlier in the day, a 20member committee of farmers met Sirsa administration officials to discuss the release of arrested farmers.
However, the talks could not reach a ll conclusion, Tikait told reporters.
The farmers have decided to stage an indefinite sit-in in front of the mini-secretariat to protest the arrests and slapping of the sedition cases, Tikait said, adding that a 20-member delegation of farmers met officials for over two hours over the issue. While the administration maintained that action against arrested will be taken by the court, the delegation sought the withdrawal of the sedition charge.
Meanwhile, Haryana home minister Anil Vij said, “The country’s law is supreme, and that law does not function on anyone’s advice, be it a politician like me.” He added that the law functions at its own pace, and such activities have no effect on the legal procedures.