Punjab CM Amarinder to stage dharna against farm bills at Bhagat Singh’s ancestral village

Joining the state-wide agitation against the controversial farm bills, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh is set to stage a dharna on Monday at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Shaheed Bhagat Singh on his birth anniversary. He will be joined by state affairs in-charge Harish Rawat, state Congress MPs and MLAs, party chief Sunil Jakhar said.

This will be Captain Amarinder Singh’s first protest against the agriculture reform introduced by the Centre. Former Uttarakhand chief minister and Congress general secretary Rawat will also be visiting Punjab for the first time since taking charge of state affairs.

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Elaborating on Monday’s plans, state officials said the Chief Minister and other leaders were expected to pay floral tributes to Bhagat Singh at his memorial at Khatkar Kalan on the occasion. Punjab cabinet minister Charanjit Singh Channi and MLA Angad Singh visited the memorial on Sunday to supervise arrangements.

President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave assent gave his assent to all three Farm Bills passed by the Parliament last week that have led to farmer agitation in Punjab and Haryana. The agriculture bills include - Essential Commodities (Amendment) 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm services Act 2020 and the Farmers' produce trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020.

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Farmer protests continue over agriculture bills

Protest against the three laws continued on Sunday, with farmers in Punjab sitting on the Amritsar-Delhi railway track. Farmers, under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, have been staging a dharna on the rail tracks in Punjab since last week. In Karnataka, farmers groups have called for a state-wide shutdown against the three farm-related bills cleared in parliament and two passed by the state assembly on Saturday. The bandh was supported by the Congress, which is in opposition in Karnataka.

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The opposition has criticised the three bills terming in ‘anti-farmer’ and alleged that they were passed in violation of the rules. The government has asserted that these bills will allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere they want at a better price. Farmers have expressed apprehension that the centre's farm reforms would dismantle the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big companies.

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