Farmers force SAD leaders to beat hasty retreat

Saturday, 31/10/2015

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BATHINDA: Three Akali ministers and SAD Rajya Sabha MP Balwinder Singh Bhunder faced embarrassing moments on Friday as farmers disrupted the state-level function at Badiala village in Bathinda district by holding a protest outside the venue.

Police round up farmers outside the venue of the state-level function to mark the death anniversary of Akali stalwart Sant Fateh Singh at Badiala village in Bathinda district on Friday.

Bhunder, who was the chief guest, had to cut short his speech as the organisers abruptly ended the function held to mark the death anniversary of Akali stalwart Sant Fateh Singh.

Farmers had given a call for disrupting the function by showing black flags to the leaders. Farmers demanded a compensation of Rs 40,000 per acre for loss to their cotton crop.

The political leaders had to wait for half an hour and left the venue only after police gave the green signal.

Though police detained around 300 workers of farmer unions in the morning, they could not restrict the movement of far mers near the venue, despite elaborate security arrangements.

The gathering patiently heard ministers Daljit Singh Cheema, Janmeja Singh Sekhon and Surjit Singh Rakhra. The protest started when the farmers sitting in the gathering started assembling outside the main gate as Bhunder started addressing the audience.

Chaos prevailed outside the venue after the protesters raised slogans against the Punjab government. Police detained a few protesters while others managed to flee from the spot. SSP Rajeshwar Singh directed the police to note down the identities of the protesters so that action could be taken against them.

Speaking on the occasion, Bhunder said, “We are happy that farmers are protesting for their better future, which depends on the Centre ,” Bhunder said.

MINISTERS BLAME CONG FOR CURRENT UNREST
In their speeches, ministers Cheema, Sekhon and Rakhra showed concern over the current unrest in Punjab and tried to brief the audience about the government’s role in defusing the situation.

All three blamed the Congress for the unrest. “What can we expect when Congress leaders, instead of behaving sensibly, share stage with radical bodies?” Cheema wondered. “It is a conspiracy by the Congress to disturb the hard-earned peace in the state by raking up a sensitive issue,” he said.