Farmer bodies urge Centre to exclude Punjab government from May 4 talks
PTC News Desk: Ahead of the May 4 meeting with Centre, the farmers have urged the Union government to exclude the representatives from the Punjab government else they will be forced to boycott the meeting.
The farmers received a formal invite for the talk from the Centre earlier this week.
Farmer leaders have expressed their discontent in a letter to Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan urging that the representatives from Punjab government should not be included in the meeting.
"After the events of 19 March, where many farmer leaders were arrested by the Punjab government and jailed, and heavy barricading and deployment of police forces are being witnessed at various borders adjoining Delhi, it appears that the Central government and the state governments are attempting to suppress the democratic rights of the farmers," the letter stated.
“We received a letter from the Union Agriculture Ministry in which we have been invited for the May 4 meeting. It has been mentioned in the letter that the representatives from the Centre as well as Punjab government will be present in the meeting,” jagjit Singh Dallewal said in a video message.
The request comes in the wake of Punjab government's extensive crackdown on farmers' agitation on march 19 while detaining several leaders when they were returning from a meeting with a central delegation led by Chouhan in Chandigarh. The detainees were later released.
Besides, the Punjab police on the directions of state government also dismantled the structures from the Shambhu and Khanauri border where they had been sitting for months.
Notably, Jagjit Singh Dallewal began his hunger strike on November 26 to press the Centre to accept the demands of farmers and ended on his fast-unto-death more than a fortnight after Punjab Police cracked down on agitating farmers.
- PTC NEWS
