Farmers pause Delhi march till February 29
CHANDIGARH: Two days after putting their Dilli Chalo march on hold, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) on Friday said the next decision on their agitation will be announced on February 29. In the interregnum, a candlelight march will be held at both the Shambhu and Khanauri inter-state borders between Punjab and Haryana on Saturday.
Sarwan Singh Pandher, general secretary, Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, said seminars on the World Trade Organization will be held on Sunday in which intellectuals will also take part.
On Monday, effigies of big corporates and BJP leaders will be burnt. Next day, SKM (non-political) and KMM will hold their own meetings. It will be followed by a joint meeting on Wednesday and the next plan of action will be announced on Thursday. “Till then we will not move further,’’ he said.
In Haryana, police softened its stand against farmer leaders, saying it had dropped a proposal to invoke the draconian National Security Act (NSA) against them. But it used tear gas in Hisar to disperse farmers who wanted to proceed to the Khanauri inter-state border to join other protesters.
In Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore and a government job for the sister of farmer Shubhkaran Singh who died during the protest, but his family rejected it saying they want justice instead. The family said they would not allow his post-mortem till the person who shot Shubhkaran dead is booked.
The Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), which is part of the SKM, said it held demonstrations at 47 places in Punjab in protest against Singh’s death.