Indian farmers on Saturday burnt copies of the farm laws enacted by theModi government outside the residences and offices of leaders of theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in various states.
They were observing a nationwide ‘Sampoorna Kranti Diwas’ to mark the daywhen these laws were promulgated as Ordinances in 2020.
Raising anti-BJP slogans, groups of farmers were seen holdingdemonstrations and burning copies of the farm laws outside or nearresidences and offices of leaders of the BJP and its political allies inmuch of Punjab and Haryana. The demonstrations were held on the call givenby the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of farmer unionsspearheading the ongoing farmers’ protests.
Farmers also staged demonstrations in other states, including AndhraPradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Telangana,Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
At Tohana in Fatehabad, Haryana, scores of farmers led by Rakesh Tikait,Gurnam Singh Chaduni and Yogendra Yadav gathered to “court arrest” inprotest against the Haryana government’s arrest of farmers following arecent spat with Tohana MLA Devender Babli. Amid the raging controversy,Babli, in a video statement about the incident on June 1 in Tohana, said,“I am a public representative and I uttered certain words that wereinappropriate. I take my words back.”
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The SKM, however, said that on June 7, a sit-in would be held in front ofall police stations across Haryana if the ruling BJP-Jannayak Janta Party(JJP) government does not withdraw the cases filed against farmers.
“His [Devender Babli’s] apology is one thing, but unless farmers who havebeen arrested are not released, we will not relent. The agitation will onlyintensify,” said senior SKM leader Darshan Pal.
Farmers associated with Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee (KMSC), aprominent outfit at the forefront of the ongoing agitation, burnt copies ofthe farm laws in 11 districts of Punjab, primarily in the Majha and Doabaregion, while Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) members burnt copies ataround 50 places across 15 districts of Punjab, according to Sukhdev Singh,general secretary, BKU (U).
