"Getting ready for bigger protests, will announce today or tomorrow": Sarwan Singh Pandher
Dec 18, 2024
Amritsar (Punjab) [India], December 18 : Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee General Secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said that the farmers are planning to organise "bigger protests in future" and said that the announcement regarding the same will done soon.
Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, the farmer leader said that they will stop trains across Punjab as part of 'Rail Roko Andolan' today.
"From 12 noon to 3 pm, we will stop the trains in Punjab today. I will be in Devi Dasspura in Amritsar (participating in the protest). We invite all Punjabis to carry out 'Rail Roko' at all rail crossings and rail stations. Many singers like Guru Randhawa are supporting the protest," he said.
He also highlighted that close to 50 farmer labourers commit suicide every day.
"Reports say that in 2022, farmers bore a loss of approximately 15 lakh crore due to not getting MSP, and 8.5 lakh crore in 2023. We are getting ready for bigger protests in the future. Today or tomorrow we will announce it. Almost all tracks that cross Punjab will be jammed," Pandher added.
Pandher also said that the BJP officials will be barred from visiting any part of Punjab.
"The leaders that were chosen by the common people are living in palaces and the people who voted for them are on the road. We have told all Punjabis to peacefully protest any BJP official visiting any part of Punjab. If they are stopping us, they will not be able to enter any place in rural Punjab," Sarwan Singh Pandher said.
Meanwhile, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, the convener of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) said that the protesting farmers will not meet the Committee formed by the Supreme Court.
The farmers were to hold a meeting with the committee on Wednesday but refused to meet citing several reasons including holding talks with the central government being one of them.
In September, the apex court constituted a committee headed by Justice Nawab Singh (Retd) to look into the demands and grievances of farmers agitating at the Shambhu border.
The ongoing farmers' protests entered their 311th day on Tuesday.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore, on Tuesday, moved an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha to discuss Jagjit Singh Dallewal's hunger strike.
"Dallewal, the president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur), is in critical condition, with medical experts advising immediate hospitalisation due to his deteriorating health. Despite this, he has refused medical intervention, insisting on continuing his hunger strike for the farmers' cause," Tagore noted.
He urged the central government to take immediate action and engage in a meaningful dialogue with farmers' representatives.