PM Modi’s Punjab visit could spark protests by farmer unions.
Around 23 Punjab farmer unions, united under Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), said on Saturday that they would once again oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, which is planned to take place on February 14, 16, and 17.
Punjab’s Assembly elections are set to take place on February 20.
The 23 unions that have issued a protest call against Modi are the ones who have decided not to run in the forthcoming elections.
“On February 14 — the day he is expected to visit Punjab for his first electoral rally — we will be burning effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the village level.”
On the day of the event, hundreds of communities will protest against his presence.
Furthermore, on February 16, protests will be staged at the tehsil level across the state,” said Dr. Darshan Pal, a member of SKM’s coordination committee.
“On February 14, the Prime Minister will visit Jalandhar, on February 16, Pathankot, and on February 17, Abohar.”
While speaking to the media, Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, general secretary of BKU-Ugrahan, stated, “We will organize protests on all highways heading to rally places in all these areas and display his cavalcade black flags.”
Farmers’ unions staged a protest near PM Modi’s Ferozepur event on January 5.
On his route to Hussainiwala, the PM’s cavalcade became stalled at Piareana overpass, with some individuals getting dangerously near to the cars in the motorcade, causing the SPG to intervene.
After claiming a security breakdown, the PM returned to Delhi without speaking at the gathering at the PGI satellite center.
On February 9, the Prime Minister addressed virtual rallies in the districts of Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib.
The farmer unions said they were obliged to demonstrate since the Prime Minister had failed to keep his commitments to the farmers.
“There has been no formation of an MSP committee, no cases against farmers have been dropped, and most all, Ashish Mishra, an accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri case, has been released on bail.”
“Union minister Ajay Mishra is still in the Union cabinet,” claimed BKU-Dakaunda general secretary Jagmohan Singh Patiala.
“We have resolved not to allow BJP candidates to visit Punjab villages,” Darshan Pal stated. “We will protest against party officials wherever they attend political gatherings.”
” Messages have been flashed across the state in communities, and on February 14, farmers will burn effigies.
Protests will be held against Capt Amarinder Singh and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa for defrauding farmers and joining a party that forced us to wait on the highways for 13 months.
“During those rallies, almost 750 farmers died,” claimed Rajinder Singh Deepsinghwala, general secretary of the Kirti Kisan Union.
BJP takes strong exception as PM Modi’s Punjab visit could spark protests by farmer unions
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slammed farmer threats to interrupt Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rallies in Punjab.
The farmers were allegedly egged on by Congress, according to BJP leaders, who stated they would take the matter to the Election Commission of India.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union minister and BJP in-charge for Punjab, responded to a statement by Ludhiana MP Ravneet Bittu, who said that the Prime Minister should use a helicopter because he might face protests, by saying that it was clear that the Congress was feeling threatened by the BJP’s growing popularity.
Bittu’s threats, he added, confirmed the BJP’s claim that the Congress administration disrupted the Prime Minister’s Ferozepur rally on a well-planned basis.
“They could try to replicate the same mistake under the guise of farmers now,” he continued.
According to Shekhawat, farmers have not opposed to or complained against any of the BJP’s programs in Punjab so far. “This has agitated and frustrated Congress.
“There is a civil war within the party,” he claimed, adding that “to divert public attention away from its internal warring, the Congress is now attempting to interrupt the Prime Minister’s rally again by misusing the name of farmers.”
Published By: Khushboo Mehta
Edited By: Kritika Kashyap
