Farmers lay siege to BJP leaders' homes to demand the scrapping of the free trade agreement

Farmers lay siege to BJP leaders' homes to demand the scrapping of the free trade agreement

Chandigarh 13 September ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) :  Today, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) staged a massive gherao (siege) of the residences of Punjab BJP leaders Kewal Singh Dhillon and Sunil Jakhar. Their demands included scrapping the proposed India-US Free Trade Agreement and the reintroduced land pooling policy; securing ownership rights for cultivating farmers, laborers, settlers, and tenant farmers; waiving the debt burden on farmers and laborers; and resolving the river water distribution dispute—instead of using it to incite conflict among farmers of different states—through an amicable solution based on the 'basin principle' and riparian laws, facilitated by impartial experts. Leaders such as State President Joginder Singh Ugrahan, State Secretary Shingara Singh Mann, Jagtar Singh Kalajhar, Janak Singh Bhutal, Roop Singh Chhanna, women's leader Kamal Barnala, and Kuldeep Kussa addressed the gatherings assembled during the *gherao* (siege/protest blockade).

The speakers stated that the free trade agreement being pursued with the US by the Narendra Modi-led central government would become a means to further devastate the agricultural sector, which is already facing a crisis. They stated that the free trade agreement would lead to the ruin of the industrial and retail sectors, in addition to the agricultural sector; consequently, unemployment and inflation would rise in the country, and the influx of genetically modified food products would condemn the Indian people to the risk of terrible diseases. They alleged that the central government is increasingly kowtowing to American imperialism and bowing before the US President's orders regarding oil purchases. They alleged that the Central Government is preparing to implement the Electricity Amendment Bill 2025 to fully privatize the power sector and is striving to pass the Seed Amendment Bill to hand over the entire crop seed business to corporate houses. They alleged that instead of waiving the loans of farmers and laborers burdened by debt—a situation resulting from government policies—the Modi government is writing off loans worth lakhs of crores owed by corporate houses.

They demanded compensation for the loss of life and property suffered by farmers and laborers due to floods last year, a guarantee of 200 days of work through the restoration of the MGNREGA Act, and the implementation of a policy for permanent recruitment across all institutions by scrapping privatization policies. Legislation should be enacted to grant ownership rights to settlers and to the farmers and laborers currently in possession of the land; the entire debt burden of farmers and laborers should be waived, and pro-farmer and pro-laborer debt laws should be framed to curb usury, Legislation should be enacted to provide compensation of ₹10 lakh per family to the families of members who committed suicide due to debt and financial hardship, An agricultural policy that saves water and protects the environment should be implemented by adopting crop diversification, Anti-worker labour codes should be repealed, Police cases related to the farmers' agitation and stubble burning will be withdrawn, and the use of police repression tactics will be stopped, Farmers should be compensated for losses caused by floods and natural disasters, and a special budget should be arranged for this purpose.