NEW DELHI: In a series of coordinated pre-dawn operations on Tuesday, Punjab Police detained several Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders ahead of the planned โChandigarh Chaloโ protest scheduled for March 5. The SKM, a coalition of 37 farmersโ unions, had announced a week-long sit-in in Chandigarh to press for various demands, including a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) and the implementation of the stateโs agricultural policy.
The police action came shortly after a meeting between SKM leaders and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ended abruptly on Monday evening. Farmer representatives alleged that the Chief Minister โwalked outโ of the discussion without addressing their concerns. Hours later, between 1 am and 4 am, police teams reportedly conducted raids at the residences of prominent farmer leaders across various districts, including Ferozepur, Tanda, Barnala, Moga, Ludhiana, and Mohali.
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Gurmeet Singh Mehma, state general secretary of the Krantikari Kisan Union, shared a video message stating,โOn Monday evening, first of all, the CM walked out of the meeting with SKM leaders and later on the police started raiding the houses of the leaders. The police came to my house in Ferozepur at 3 am and took me under preventive arrest.โ
Similarly, leaders such as Jangveer Singh Chauhan, Manjeet Raj, and Surjeet Singh were detained in Tanda, Barnala, and Moga, respectively. Authorities also attempted to locate Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Ugrahan, but were unsuccessful.
Harinder Singh Lakhowal, president of BKU Lakhowal, condemned the police actions, stating, โInstead of considering our demands, the police are being sent to our houses to arrest us.โ He urged farmers to converge in Chandigarh in large numbers to voice their grievances.
The SKMโs charter of demands includes the withdrawal of the Centreโs draft of the National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing, a legal guarantee to MSP as per the Swaminathan Commission report, and the implementation of the stateโs agricultural policy. They are also advocating for a law for debt settlement, ensuring canal water to every field, payment of sugarcane arrears, and stopping โforcibleโ acquisition of land for the Bharatmala projects.
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In response to the detentions, former Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal criticized the state governmentโs approach, stating, โThe AAP government is choking democracy by carrying out such disgraceful actions.โ
As tensions escalate, the SKM has called for an emergency meeting in Ludhiana to strategize their next steps ahead of the planned protest march to Chandigarh. The farmersโ unions remain steadfast in their decision to proceed with the โChandigarh Chaloโ march, emphasizing their commitment to securing their rights and addressing long-standing issues affecting the agricultural community.
