By Gurnam Kanwar
CHANDIGARH: At the call of the
national council of All India Kisan Sabha, the Punjab unit ofthis militant organisation
of the working peasantry and rural masses, organized protest actionsagainst the
anti-peasant, antirural worker and anti-people budget of the Modi
governmentwhich though camouflaging the budget in electoral concessions but
actually did nothing tobring out the agriculture from crisis.
Addressing the protest at
Mansa, Hardev Singh Arshi, peasant leader and nationalcouncil member of the
Communist Party of India, said that the neo-liberal and procorporate economic policies
of the BJP led government at the centre are leading to the ruin of the
peasantry and rural labour already trapped in debt.
The debt burden has been
pushing the farmers to the brink, forcing them to commit suicides. Meanwhile, the
Central budget has played a cruel joke with peasantry announcing a help of five
hundred per month to peasants, instead waiving off the loan. Even the Congress government
did nothing to write of the loans in the state which they had promised before elections.
Theydid not fulfil their election promise of implementing Swaminathan
recommendations forremunerative prices. Instead they accentuated the crisis by
demonetisation and GST.
He was speaking to hundreds of
farmers and khet mazdoors who with red flags in their hands had gathered at district
courts after marching through bazaars of Mansa.
Hardev Arshi criticised the
Jumla budget prepared for coming elections to win back the people that had rejected
BJP government in three states in recent assembly elections. But, Arshi
declared that the peasants and people will not fall into this Jumla trap.
The protest was also addressed
by Krishan Chauhan, district president of BKMU, Nihal Singh, district president
of Punjab Kisan Sabha. Chauhan demanded that recognition of political parties
which do not fulfil the elction promises be scrapped. Dharna was also addressed
by Sita Ram Gobindpura, Darshan Pandher and others.
In district Fazilka, the
protest action was led by Hansraj Golden, CPI district secretary and Surinder
Dhandian, the state leader of Kisan Sabha. They marched in Jalalabad town,
raised slogans, held protest rally and burnt effigy of Modi government for their
Jumla Budget.
Strong protest was voiced at
Amritsar which was led and addressed by Lakhbir Singh Nijampura, state Kisan leader
and Amarjit Aasal, renowned leader of AITUC, and Daswinder Kaur, leader of
working women and others who condemned the communal and antipeople policies of
Modi government which bent upon to implement the communal agenda of RSS and
economic agenda of Ambanis and adanis and increasing the burden on common people
in disguise of populous budget prepared keeping in view the coming elections. They
burnt the effigy of central budget at Hall Gate, Amritsar.
The protest at Goindwal in
district Tarntaran was led and addressed by CPI state assistant secretary
Pirthipal Singh Marhimegha who said the central budget has no planning for
generating employment. Instead Modi’s policies are increasing unemployment,
what to speak of promise of creating one crore jobs every year. He demanded
that Right to work should be enshrined in Constitution. He demanded writing off
the debts, remunerative prices, and cheap inputs for agriculture. Others who
spoke included Gurdial Singh Khadoor Sahib, Baldev Singh Dhunda and others.
They supported teachers’ struggle and demanded compensation for destruction
caused by floods in Goindwal area.
In Patiala, Kulwant Singh
Maulviwal, the state vice-president of Punjab AIKS led the protest marches and
rallies at Dugaal and Shutrana, which was also addressed by Jagjit Singh
Dugaal, Ram Chand Chunagra, Narata Ram and others. They burnt copies of central
budget.
In Sangrur at Baxiwala the
protest meeting was held at community centre of the village which was addressed
by Hardev Singh Baxiwala, the state leader of Punjab Kisan Sabha. In this
district at proper Sangrur the the protest action was addressed by Nirmal Singh
Batriana and others.At Pathankot the protesters were addressed by Balbir Singh
Giala, Dial Singh Shahidpur, Satyadev Saini and others. At Gurdaspur, Gulzar
Singh and Balbir Singh Katowal led the protesters who after staging march in
bazaars, held a rally and burnt effigy of budget.
The reports of Kisan protest
against budget have come from Moga (Kuldip Bhola), Bathinda (Jagjit Joga and
Balkaran Brar), Ludhiana, Ropar, Firozpur and Nawan Shahar also.
Bhupinder Samber, the working
president of AIKS, congratulated the leaders and workers of Kisan Sabha who
worked hard and implemented the central AIKS decision taken at Mumbai national council
meeting and the state committee meeting. He asked the workers to be ready for
big struggles ahead because the Modi government has to be ousted in order to
address the agricultural problems and crisis.(IPA Service)
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