Chandigarh, (Samajweekly) Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) President Joginder Singh Ugrahan on Sunday dared Delhi Police to enter Punjab for arresting the Red Fort violence accused.
At a massive show of strength by the farmers and farm labourers mainly from the Malwa region of Punjab at Barnala town, he said this was for the first time in history that a protest of such a scale in India was mounted to challenge a “fascist and communal government”.
The ‘maha kisan-mazdoor rally’ saw thousands of farmers and farm labourers protest the Centre’s three contentious farm laws.
Ugrahan said the rally was historic as the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) came together with the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union.
Donning yellow dupatta to signify solidarity, tens of thousands of women too participated.
Sufi singer Kanwar Garewal enthralled the gathering.
Organisers claimed that over two lakh farmers attended the rally.
Besides Ugrahan, leaders of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha comprising Balbir Singh Rajewal, Ruldu Singh Mansa and Sukhdev Singh too participated in the rally.
Expressing serious concern over the threat to the state’s agriculture as a result of the “disruption caused by the three new farm laws”, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure urgent resolution of the ongoing farm unrest by the Centre “to the satisfaction of the protesting farmers by addressing their grievances”.
Calling for the fullest respect for the ‘annadaata’, the Chief Minister, through his speech for the virtual meeting of the Niti Aayog, reiterated his government’s stand that agriculture is a state subject and law-making on it should be left to the states in the true spirit of “cooperative federalism” enshrined in the Constitution.
In this context, he pointed to the state amendments already passed to the central legislations by the state Assembly in October 2020.
