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BKU ultimatum to govt
Threatens to stop power supply to Delhi
Shubhadeep Choudhury
Tribune News Service

Gulkani (Jind), June 9
Unimpressed by the conciliatory moves being made by the Haryana Government, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) today set a 48-hour deadline for the state government for meeting its demand and threatened that if the government failed to adhere to the deadline, it would snap supply of various goods from Haryana to Delhi, including power and water.

Announcements to this effect were made by Mr Ghasiram Nain, president of the BKU, at a meeting held here today to mourn the death of five villagers who died in police firing in two separate incidents on May 29 and May 31. The villagers were shot while implementing the BKU’s call for a blockade of Haryana roads in protest against the state government’s step to arrest BKU leaders.

Amidst loud cheers from the gathering, who had assembled at a school building here, Mr Nain announced the programme of stoppage of supply to Delhi from Haryana. The sit-in demonstration at Kandela and the blockade of roads would continue as usual, he said and added that more roads would be blocked by BKU agitators in the current phase of the agitation. “We have been hearing that the state government is ready to withdraw the cases against us, but we will withdraw the agitation only when documentary proof is produced to us regarding the state government’s step”, he said.

He said the BKU would also disrupt power supply to towns and industrial centres inside Haryana, if the state government did not act on its demand within 48 hours.

A large number of Congress leaders, including Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the HPCC chief, Mr Mangeram Gupta, Mr Sher Singh, Mr O.P. Jindal and Mr Jeetender Malik, MLAs, Mr Virender Singh, former HPCC chief, Mr Chhattarpal Singh and others were present at the meeting and made speeches condemning the Haryana Government and its Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala for letting the police fire at the farmers.

“Mr Chautala had promised the farmers free supply of power and water during the elections. But after coming to power, he has “Mr Chautala had promised the farmers free supply of power and water during the elections. But after coming to power, he has responded to the farmers’ aspirations with bullets”, Mr Hooda said in his speech. He said the Congress, when it comes to power in Haryana, will give Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the families of those killed in police firing in Gulkani and Naguran villages.

The Congress also fulfilled the assurance given by it to the families of the killed BKU supporters earlier when it handed over Rs 1 lakh in cash to each of the five persons’ families. The Congress leaders, however, left the venue soon after making their speeches and when Mr Nain made his inflammatory speech threatening to stop power and water supply to Delhi, none of the Congress members were around.

Mr Inderjit Singh, State Secretary of the CPM was also present at the meeting and he, too, addressed the gathering. “Liberalisation has brought untold miseries to the farming community of Haryana as elsewhere in the country”, he said.

The meeting started with the BKU president garlanding the photographs of the five persons who died in police firing following which a one-minute silence was observed in their memory. The photographs were also strewn with flower petals by Mr Nain and others sharing the dais with him as a mark of respect to the sacrifice made by the five BKU supporters.

Top BKU leaders, including Mr Nate Singh, Mr Daryao Singh, Mr Dharambir Hooda and others were present during the meeting. Mr Nain, who later had a brief conversation with reporters, said they had their “own way” of disrupting power and water supply to Delhi. When he was asked how the BKU could manage to do it, Mr Dharambir Hooda said they would go by what Mr Nain said whatever might be the cost for carrying out such a directive.