Chandigarh: With the ruling Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) MLA Ram Karan Kala "resigning" as the chairman of Haryana Sugarfed on Thursday to protest the police lathi charge on the agitating farmers and their leaders’ detention demanding MSP on sunflower seeds, the ongoing farmers’ stir in Haryana has brought out difference between the ruling alliance.
Kala is MLA from Shahbad segment in Kurukshetra district where the farmers are currently holding a protest. The JJP is the junior partner in the BJP-JJP combine government in Haryana. The farmers were caned by police after they blocked the Delhi-Chandigarh national highway for about seven hours on Tuesday. It is, however, still not clear if Kala’s resignation has been accepted.
Kala said that he had quit the Sugarfed chairman's post as the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP-JJP alliance government did not consider his demand for farmer leaders’ release as well as the minimum support price for sunflower seeds for which the farmers were holding the protest. He had expressed his protest on Wednesday and also met JJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala in the context.
Ruing the cane-charge on the farmers by the police to remove them from the national highway, Kala said the government should have resolved the issue by holding talks with the farmers beforehand.
Leaders in 14-day judicial custody
Meanwhile, at least nine farmer leaders who had been detained on Tuesday were sent to 14-day judicial custody.
It may be recalled that while several of the protesters were detained and later let off by police, at least nine of their leaders including Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) president Gurnam Singh Charuni were arrested for blocking the highway in Shahbad town in Kurukshetra district.
The police action had since evoked condemnation from all the opposition parties.
Farmers riot against public servants
Meanwhile, according to reports, some of the farmer leaders also faced charges of alleged rioting and using criminal force to deter public servants and even attempt to murder by hitting police personnel with a tractor. The police reportedly held that there were also video recordings of the incident.
On Thursday, too, groups of farmers held protests at a few places in the state including staging a sit-in on the Shahbad-Ladwa road in Kurukshetra.
