Proactive on matters concerning Punjab, its farmer unions have preferred to maintain a distance from the ongoing abolition of ‘Waris Punjab De’ and its pro-Khalistan self-styled leader Amritpal Singh.
They, however, lamented that amid all this, the agrarian crisis and farmer issues have taken a backseat in the state.
Avtar Singh Mehma, general secretary of Krantikari Kisan Union, said, “We don’t want to speak anything about the Amritpal incident. It is a matter of investigation, however, it could have been handled in a much better way. They disconnected the internet in the state and took various other strict actions which created a sense of fear among the people.”
To this, Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, general secretary of BKU Ugrahan, added that the Amritpal incident is a matter of investigation but the way it is being represented depicts that the government wants to run away from the real issues of Punjab. He also added, “The agrarian crisis and the issues faced by farmers have all taken a backseat. The state is just playing in the hands of the Centre.”
Prem Singh Bhangu, president of All India Kisan Federation said, “The incident has been taken too far and a sense of fear has clasped the state. Even the state’s image is being represented in the wrong way outside Punjab. We don’t want to go back to those dark days again and to stop this, the state should start operating in a normal way and continue with its investigation. We are wondering why this has been hyped so much. An FIR against Amritpal was also lodged much before then why did they give him so much time to wander around?”
In addition to this, Jagmohan Singh Patiala, general secretary of BKU Dakaunda said that farmer unions focus on farm matters and this incident has nothing to do with them. “Hence, we don’t want to say anything about this. But the government should normalize the state’s operations soon.”
Akal Takht Jathedar called for a special meet:
Akal Takht Jathedar has called a special meeting on the present arrests of Sikh youths at Amritsar. All mainstream political parties excluding Aam Adami Party will be invited to this meeting on March 27.
On Wednesday, a poster of the event was released which reads, “To decide the future course of action on the present situation in Punjab, the uneasiness among the Sikhs and unjustified arrests of Sikh youths, a meeting has been organized under the leadership of Akal Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh. Sikh bodies, intellectuals, journalists, lawyers, student organizations, and social bodies leaders are invited to this meeting.”
A close aide of Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh said, “Apart from Shiromani Akali Dal factions, one leader each from Bhartiya Janta Party, Congress, and Bahujan Samaj Party is also expected to attend the meeting.”
