Hindustan Times (Noida)

One person from each house to reach Delhi: Hry khap leaders

- Sunil Rahar Sunil.kumar3@htlive.com

ROHTAK: Major khap (clan) panchayats in Haryana on Friday decided to send at least one person from each family to farmer protests on Delhi’s borders and socially boycott leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) , khap leaders said. Haryana is governed by a BJP-JJP coalition.

The move came even as the Haryana government suspended mobile Internet in Rewari, Ambala, Jind, Bhiwani, Karnal, Kaithal, Kurukshetr­a, Panipat, Hisar, Rohtak, and Sirsa till Saturday evening, one of the most extensive internet blackouts in the state. The move is aimed at restrictin­g communicat­ion between farm groups and preventing mobilisati­on. But the damage had already been done.

One of the state’s most influentia­l khaps, Kandela, held meetings at Kandela village on Friday. Likewise, the Dadan and Barh khaps hold their meetings at Uchana and Julana in Jind respective­ly. The Phogat khap met in Dadri, the Sarv khap in Rohtak , and the Sarv Sheoran khap at Kharkari village in Bhiwani.

Balwant Nambardar, head of the Phogat Khap, said, “We have socially boycotted Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, Bhiwani-mahenderga­rh MP Dharambir Singh and former Dadri MLA Rajdeep Phogat, who is a chairman in the BJP-JJP government. We will not call these leaders in our social functions.

Om Prakash Hooda, president of Hooda Khap, said his clan has unanimousl­y decided to restrict the entry of ruling party leaders and government officials in villages under their control until the three farm laws are repealed.

Farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other northern states have been protesting at Delhi’s borders demanding the rollback of the three contentiou­s farm laws passed in September last year.

The farmers say they fear corporate farming will affect their earnings. However, the government continues to claim that the new laws would increase incomes of farmers and introduce a levelplayi­ng field.

The khaps also decide to send reinforcem­ents to the state’s borders with Delhi where farmers have been camping since November. The Sarv Panchayat khap held a meeting and said thousands of farmers from Haryana would soon reach Delhi’s borders. “The (Phogat) khap has decided to send at least one person from each family to Delhi’s border,” Nambardar added.

“Hundreds of our tractors will head towards Ghazipur border tomorrow (Saturday) from Sampla here after visiting the statue of farm leader Chhotu Ram. We will ensure supply of milk and other items daily,” Hooda of Hooda khap said. On Friday, protesters blocked the Chandigarh- Jind highway; other protestors reached toll plazas in Rohtak, Dadri, Bhiwani, Jind, Hisar and other parts of the state.

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