BKU to protest against farm bills in Haryana on Sep 20; Vij appeals for not blocking highways

The Bharatiya Kisan Union's Haryana unit will hold a statewide protest against the Centre's farm bills on Sunday during which they will block roads for three hours, even as the state government asserted that they have made arrangements to ensure the event passes off peacefully.

The Bharatiya Kisan Union's Haryana unit will hold a statewide protest against the Centre's farm bills on Sunday during which they will block roads for three hours, even as the state government asserted that they have made arrangements to ensure the event passes off peacefully. Haryana BKU chief Gurnam Singh said the Centre did not withdraw the three agriculture-related ordinances and presented them as bills during the ongoing session of Parliament, which have been passed in the Lok Sabha. "We had warned the government not to go ahead with these 'anti-farmer' legislations. Tomorrow, we will be holding a protest across the state during which we will block roads for three hours. However, the GT road (national highway) will not be blocked," he said on Saturday, adding that they have support from other farmer outfits. He also said that farmers from Haryana and Punjab will start a movement against the "anti-farmer" measures which will later intensify into pan-India protests.

On September 10, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) along with some other farmer outfits had held a protest in Kurukshetra's Pipli against the farm ordinances. Reacting to the protest call, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said all arrangements have been made to ensure that vehicular movement on highways is not disrupted during the agitation. He appealed to farmers not to block any highway.

The minister added that the opposition was "misleading" the farmers and that they should realise that the farm reforms were for their benefit. At the same time, he said, farmers have the right to protest in a democratic country, but "we want to appeal to them that they should not block the national highway".

"Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, often there are ambulances going from one place to the other carrying patients. There are others who are out on roads due to some emergency or for discharging their official duty. So no one should block the roads," Vij appealed. Meanwhile, the state government has communicated to deputy commissioners, police IGs and SPs to reach out to the organisers to ensure that the protests passed off peacefully. "We have taken all necessary measures in view of the protest call," Vij added.