CHANDIGARH: Farmers set fire to copies of the Centre’s three farm laws on Saturday near the residences and offices of BJP leaders in Punjab and Haryana as they observed ‘Sampoorna Kranti Diwas’ to mark the day of the promulgation of the farm ordinances last year. At various places in both Punjab and Haryana, farmers carrying black flags raised slogans against the BJP-led NDA government for not scrapping these laws which, they said will destroy the farming community.
At Phagwara in Punjab, farmers assembled near the GT Road and marched towards the residence of Union minister Som Parkash at Urban Estate and burnt copies of the farm laws. The Punjab Police barricaded the road leading to Prakash’s house to prevent protesters from reaching there. Parkash was not at home at the time of the protest. The farmers also held a protest near Prakash’s residence in Mohali.
In Hoshiarpur, farmers took out a protest march from local Gurdwara Singh Sabha to the local BJP office at Shastri market where they then burned copies of the legislation. Protests were also at Amritsar, Jalandhar, Mohali, Abohar, Barnala, Nawanshahr, and Patiala.
In neighbouring Haryana, the police lathi-charged farmers in Panchkula as they blocked the Zirakpur-Kalka highway. They were earlier stopped by the police as they marched towards Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta’s residence. In Gurugram, the farmers blocked the main road in front of a BJP MLAs’ office. In Ambala, farmers held a demonstration near the residence of Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij.