Farmers target BJP leaders across Punjab
Tribune News Service
Amritsar/Muktsar, January 1
On the completion of 100 days of protest against the three Central laws, farmers held protests against BJP leaders across the state today.
In Amritsar, activists of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee staged protests outside the residences of BJP leaders.
They held demonstrations in front of residences of Tarun Chugh, BJP general secretary, Shwait Malik; Rajya Sabha MP and a shopping mall-cum-multiplex in the holy city.
The members also staged a protest in front of a multi-storey showroom, belonging to BJP leader and former minister Anil Joshi at Patti in Tarn Taran. The protesters burnt the effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some corporates.
Normal traffic was disrupted as a large number of people had come to the town on the New Year for shopping. Harpreet Singh Sidhwan, a state leader of the committee, said the Union Government must repeal all three farm Acts.
In Hoshiarpur, some youths today threw a trailer laden with cow dung in front of the gate of BJP leader and former Cabinet Minister Tikshan Sood’s residence in protest over his remark on the farmers’ struggle. The protesters also raised slogans against Sood. Meanwhile, BJP workers also reached the spot and started raising slogans in support of Sood. A police party led by the DSP reached the spot and defused the situation.
According to information, around 11 am, 12 men holding black flags reached in front of Sood’s residence. They opened the gate of the house and unloaded a cow dung-laden trailer in front of it.
Later, the police filed a case under Sections 452, 506, 323, 148 and 149 of the IPC against Dal Khalsa leader Ranveer Singh Khalsa, alias Tohra, and 10 of his associates.
Harcharanjeet Singh Dhami, former president of the Dal Khalsa, said Sood had incited the youth by uttering derogatory remarks against the farm struggle, which led to the incident.
In Muktsar, farmers gheraoed BJP’s district block president Tarsem Goyal outside a government school at Ballamgarh village. The BJP leader and Muktsar SDM had gone there to donate notebooks and some other material to students.
However, when they came out of the school, the farmers gheraoed the BJP leader and raised slogans. By that time, the SDM had left the venue.
On this, Tarsem said, “I had gone to the school as a social activist and not as a BJP leader. Our NGO is working hard for the welfare of poor. It is unfortunate that farmers lodged a protest today. I was not even having any BJP flag or poster. The farmers are protesting against the Centre, but they lodged a protest against an NGO today.”
