Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur and several party workers were detained by police during Kisan March near Mullapur barrier here on Thursday. However, they were released later.
SAD leaders were prevented from entering the city to hand over a memorandum for the President to ask for revocation of the three "black" laws on agriculture to the State Governor.
The police resorted to lathi-charge and use water cannons to disperse SAD workers during the Kisan March.
Senior SAD leader Parkash Singh Badal said that the "brutal" lathi-charge on peaceful protesting workers made this painful and dark day for democracy in the country.
"No one knows better than Akali workers how to stand up to brutal authoritarianism like one demonstrated by Chandigarh police against innocent workers," he said.
Earlier while addressing a massive congregation at Mullanpur, the SAD President said the Modi government was trying to muzzle the voice of the farmers but the party would stand with them come what may.
"We opposed the black laws in parliament and subsequently left the ministry and even the alliance with the BJP. Today we are standing shoulder to shoulder with the farmers of Punjab. I assure the farmers that the SAD will not only fight for their rights but ensure they remained protected," he said.
Badal also announced that farmers of Punjab would not allow the implementation of the black laws in the State under any circumstances. "We will also not allow corporates to take over the produce of the 'annadaata'," he said.
Badal said that Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh should call an immediate Assembly session and revoke the APMC Act which he amended in 2017 to allow private mandis, contract farming and e-trading.
"We also demand that the entire state be declared as one Mandi to ensure the agricultural laws cannot be implemented in the state," he said.
Badal also asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to tell Punjabis why he was coming to Punjab to shed crocodile tears at their plight when he had called for scraping the APMC Act in 2019 and had refused to part ways with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra even when it voted in favour of the Agri Bills.
