At Ambala rally, Gurnam Singh Charuni urges farm activists to stay disciplined & united

Ambala, November 24

BKU (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh today called upon farm activists to stay disciplined and united if they want to get their demands fulfilled.

He was addressing a rally held to celebrate the birth anniversary of leader Sir Chhotu Ram and mark two years of the farm agitation at Mohra Grain Market here, where farmers from Haryana and Punjab turned up.

But, for a majority of the activists the rally was merely an outing as they kept roaming despite repeated appeals made from the stage.

Irked with the situation, the BKU (chief) pulled up the activists and said he was pained to see the indiscipline. “You have to turn up in good numbers and be disciplined if you really want to get your demands fulfilled. The day you stand united, the government will accept all our demands,” he added.

“The union had given the call to block the highway if all cases registered against the farmers before and during the farm stir were not withdrawn by November 24, but the government has accepted our demand. But, several other demands are still pending for which three memoranda have been submitted today for the CM and the PM. If the government fails to fulfil the demands, the union will call a meeting to decide the future course of action and protest.”

He, however, praised Home Minister Anil Vij for withdrawing the cases, but criticised CM Manohar Lal Khattar for the delay. He also slammed state Agriculture Minister JP Dalal.

After the rally, the BKU leaders handed over the memorandums to Ambala DC Dr Priyanka Soni and SP Jashandeep Singh Randhawa.

Their demands include MSP guarantee, time-bound payment of insurance claims, ban on genetically modified crops, loan waiver, paddy stubble management, adequate compensation for land acquired for highways and increasing the price of sugarcane to Rs 450 a quintal.