Farmers Stir: Cong leaders visit Kurukshetra, say farmers' voice cannot be muzzled

Their visit came a day after the Bhartiya Kisan Union and other farmer organisations blocked the national highway at Pipli to protest Centre's three farm ordinances, which they claimed were "anti-farmers". Congress leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Kumari Selja, who separately visited Pipli, strongly condemned the alleged attempt to "muzzle the voice of farmers" and demanded that the cases lodged against them in connection with the protest be withdrawn.

Congress leaders on Friday visited Pipli in Haryana's Kurukshetra district to show solidarity with farmers and attacked the BJP-JJP government, saying that the voice of farmers cannot be muzzled and they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them. Their visit came a day after the Bhartiya Kisan Union and other farmer organisations blocked the national highway at Pipli to protest Centre's three farm ordinances, which they claimed were "anti-farmers".

Congress leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Kumari Selja, who separately visited Pipli, strongly condemned the alleged attempt to "muzzle the voice of farmers" and demanded that the cases lodged against them in connection with the protest be withdrawn. Police booked over 300 farmers, including Haryana BKU chief Gurnam Singh, on Friday under different sections of the IPC for violating prohibitory orders and damaging property.

Former chief minister Hooda said the government was taking "anti-farmers and anti-people decisions", and when people rose against this injustice, they were silenced on the strength of police batons. Hooda, who is the leader of the opposition, said that the BJP-JJP coalition government "has committed an unforgivable sin by using batons against the farmers who reached the Pipli rally to protest against government's policies". "Whichever government has used lathis or bullets against the farmers did not last long in power," Hooda said. He reminded the people about the 2002 Kandela incident in Jind in which nine farmers were killed in police firing. The Congress leader said that the then INLD government was later thrown out of power by farmers and the people of the state. "At that time too, we fought along with the farmers and will fight for them and with them today. We give a 10-day ultimatum to the government to take back cases registered against the farmers involved in this movement. We and the farmers will otherwise have no other option but to launch a big movement against the government," he said.

Hitting out at the Khattar government, Hooda said the ruling dispensation is "trying to escape its crime by trying to brand the struggle of farmers as a movement of Congress". "Every farmer knows that the movement is not sponsored by the Congress but has been organised by the farmers," he said. The Haryana unit of the ruling BJP had on Thursday alleged that the Pipli protest was "Congress sponsored". State Agriculture Minister J P Dalal said that some elements were trying to mislead the farmers on the ordinances. "These are in the interest of farmers, but some people are trying to spread the falsehood that these will impact the MSP system. We have said many times that the MSP regime will continue," said Dalal. Senior Congress leader Surjewala said farmers and farm labourers are the backbone of the country, but the government is allegedly bent upon breaking their back. "Yesterday in Haryana, the whole country witnessed the real face of the Khattar government when Kurukshetra was turned into a battlefield where police brutality was unleashed," claimed Surjewala. "The names of M L Khattar, Dushyant Chautala will be written in history as those great rulers whose rule became a symbol of oppression and tyranny," Surjewala alleged.

He said the Congress will not rest till the time the ordinances are withdrawn. Haryana Congress President Kumari Selja also met the farmers and assured full support of Congress party in their struggle. Selja condemned the 'brutal' lathi charge by the police on the farmers at Pipli and demanded that all cases registered in this regard be withdrawn immediately.

She said that Congress workers will hold district-level 'dharnas' throughout the state on September 21 to protest the three farm ordinances.