Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has condemned the brutal attacks on farmers by police in Haryana calling it shameful and criticized the centre for not paying heed to farmers' demands.
"Attack on farmers is a shameful incident for the nation. This is a kind of Talibani mentality. How can this government say it is for the poor and for the farmers? It doesn't even hear farmers' 'Mann ki Baat'," news agency ANI quoted Raut saying.
At least 10 people were injured on Saturday as police allegedly lathi-charged a group of farmers disrupting traffic movement on a highway while heading towards Karnal to protest against a BJP meeting.
The police, however, said only mild force was used as the protesters were blocking the highway, affecting traffic movement.
They also said that only four protesters were injured, while 10 cops also sustained injuries.
The Haryana Police drew severe criticism for the action against the farmers, and several roads and highways, including toll plazas, were blockaded at different places in protest for hours on Saturday.
Several workers of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) burnt an effigy of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday to protest against the lathicharge on farmers in Karnal on August 28.
The party workers gathered in Pinna village here and raised slogans against the Haryana government.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha - the umbrella body under which many farmer groups have united to protest the farm laws - also slammed the police for their "brutal" actions and called on farmers across the state to gather for a concerted protest later today.
The farmers, in Haryana and elsewhere, have been protesting against the three farm laws for over nine months now.
Several rounds of talks have been held but no resolution is in sight, with the government unwilling to scrap the laws (one of the farmers' demands) and the farmers standing defiant.
(With inputs from agencies)
