In response to the call given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), hundreds of farmers on Monday thronged the railway tracks in Punjab. Lakhimpur Kheri massacre and demand for expulsion BJP Ajay Mishra, MP from the Union Cabinet.
In Punjab, ‘Rail Roko’ agitations were organized by farmers’ unions from 10 am to 4 pm at 108 places. In two places – the Ludhiana Firozpur line and the Firozpur Fazilka line – the protests started much earlier, between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m., as farmers reached these tracks early. In Ambala Division, four trains – including ChandigarhNew Delhi Shatabdi Express has been cancelled, while 14 express trains and 4 passenger trains have been stopped at different places from 9.45 am to late evening.
“The Lakhimpur Kheri incident happened on October 3. The Uttar Pradesh Police has named Union Minister Ajay Mishra in its FIR. However, till date, he has not been arrested or removed from the Union Cabinet. It is clear that this government justifies the violence, and hence, no action has been taken against the minister,” said Ruldu Singh Mansa, president of Punjab Kisan Union, Mansa.
“Also, the minister has been justifying himself till now and has not resigned on his own on moral grounds. Eight people, including four farmers and a journalist, were killed in that incident.
Farmers sitting on railway track in Raipur Kalan village, Chandigarh (Express photo by Jaipal Singh)
Although Monday’s protest was mainly over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, speeches at protest sites also discussed agricultural laws, with farmers saying nothing less than repeal of agricultural laws would be acceptable to them.
Although many agricultural laborers also sat on their own with farmers at many places, most of the farm labor unions did not directly participate in these protests on Monday. Laxman Singh Sevewala, general secretary of Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, said, “The workers themselves took part in today’s dharna. But our union was not part of the protest. However, we have no differences with the farmers and we stand with them on the issue of agricultural laws.”
Ambala Division is important for training services in northern India as Ambala Cantonment Junction in Haryana serves as the main gateway to Punjab for the broad-gauge line. (Express Photo/Rana Simranjit Singh)
Out of 108 places, about 32 farmers unions of Punjab organized rail roko at 62 places, while BKU-Ugrahan staged dharna at 26 places. Members of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Samiti sat on the tracks at 20 other places.
The Allahabad-based North Central Railway said its train services remained unaffected so far. (Express Photo/Rana Simranjit Singh)
In Bareta, women leader of Punjab Kisan Union, Surinder Kaur addressed the gathering, while in Jagraon, apart from union leaders, some teenage girls addressed the gathering.
When contacted, none of the farm union leaders could explain why the agitation at some places started much earlier than the scheduled time at 10 am, causing major disruptions on the Ludhiana-Firozpur, and Ferozepur-Fazilka lines and causing many commuters to be stranded. There was inconvenience. A large number of people who travel by train for work on a daily basis were forced to make last-minute travel arrangements. Railway officials said that no untoward incident was reported from any of the protest sites in Punjab and all the protests remained peaceful.
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