Punjab government passes resolution to repeal sections 78, 79 and 80 of Punjab Reorganisation Act in Vidhan Sabha session and sends it to Lok Sabha

Punjab government passes resolution to repeal sections 78, 79 and 80 of Punjab Reorganisation Act in Vidhan Sabha session and sends it to Lok Sabha

A resolution should also be passed in the Vidhan Sabha to cancel and re-evaluate all unconstitutional and discriminatory agreements on water with Punjab so far

Water, cancel free trade agreements, Debt relief and Chandigarh Morcha launched for other farmers' demands

Punjab government should arrange for purchase guarantee at MSP of basmati, moong, maize, potato, peas and cabbage

The price of sugarcane should be fixed at Rs 500 per quintal and one counter one payment should be implemented in every mill.

The new form of land pooling policy should be scrapped.

Chandigarh/S.A.S.Nagar 1 September ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : The Sanyukta Kisan Morcha Punjab has launched a protest in Sector 48-C, Chandigarh with full enthusiasm for the issue of water, cancellation of the free trade agreement, debt waiver and other farmer demands. Since last night, farmers from different corners of the state had started arriving on tractor trolleys and other vehicles to join the march. By 4 pm today, groups of farmers were reaching the front as the news was being written. Due to the influx of farmers, lines of tractor trolleys had formed from Sector 48-C to Besteck Square Mall. The pandal has been decorated by the Sanyukat Kisan Morcha at Sector 48-C. Today, the proceedings of the stage were conducted by the presidium consisting of Harinder Singh Lakhowal, Nirbhai Singh Dhudike, Prem Singh Bhangu, Dalvir Singh Sidhupur, Veer Singh Barwa, Kanwalpreet Singh Pannu and Nachhattar Singh Jaito.

Addressing the gathering of farmers, various speakers said that the water crisis in Punjab is becoming serious day by day. According to the report of the Central Water Commission, 133 out of 153 blocks of Punjab have come out as highly exploited or critical blocks. The groundwater is getting deeper and is full of toxic elements. This water is harmful to humans, animals, and crops. Therefore, to resolve the water issue, the Centre and the Punjab government should make serious efforts by making the riparian principle and the scope of the constitutional system the principle. The speakers strongly demanded that the Punjab government make arrangements to pass and send a resolution in the Vidhan Sabha demanding the repeal of Sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Punjab Reorganization Act to Parliament. Farmer leaders have also demanded that a resolution be passed in the Vidhan Sabha to cancel and re-evaluate all unconstitutional and discriminatory agreements made with Punjab so far on the issue of water.

The farmer leaders made it clear that they had been making advance demands from the Central and Punjab governments for a long time to accept the farmers' demands. But both the governments ignored the demands. As a result, the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha Punjab has staged a protest in Chandigarh from September 1.Demanding fixing the price of sugarcane crop at Rs 500, implementation of the principle of one counter, one payment in each mill and immediate payment of outstanding dues to the mills, the farmer leaders said that the Punjab government should at least arrange for MSP and purchase guarantee for basmati, moong, maize, potato, peas and cabbage at its own level.

The speakers said that the debt burden on farmers and laborers has increased due to the wrong policies of the government. On the one hand, the sky-high prices of consumer goods and on the other hand, the burden of debt on farmers and laborers is becoming heavier day by day due to the lack of remunerative prices. They demanded debt relief for farmers and laborers on the lines of corporate houses. Demanding the implementation of a lump sum debt settlement scheme in cooperative financial institutions, the speakers said that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had given in-principle agreement to the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha in this regard, but it was not implemented.Demanding the cancellation of anti-people trade agreements with imperialist countries including the US, farmer leaders said that the BJP's central government should make public the entire record of trade agreement negotiations with the US. He gave a stern warning to the central government that any compromise against the national and agricultural interests of the country will not be accepted and a nationwide struggle will be launched against it. Farmer leaders demanded the repeal of the new form of land pooling policy, saying that corporate houses are pressuring governments to bypass the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 to grab fertile lands.

Two resolutions were also presented in today's gathering. In the first resolution, a condolence resolution was passed on the death of labor leader Gurnam Singh Daud in a road accident. In the second resolution, instead of accepting the legitimate demands of the labor movement, the retaliatory action taken by the Punjab government against the leaders was strongly condemned and the labor struggle was supported.The speakers included Harinder Singh Lakhowal, Rajinder Singh Deep Singh Wala, Gurmeet Bhattiwal, Kulwant Singh Kishangarh, Prem Singh Bhangu, Kamalpreet Singh Pannu, Gurjant Singh Mansa, Veer Singh Barwa, Buta Singh Shadipur, Lakhanpal Sharma, Balwinder Singh Malli Nangal, Jangveer Singh Chauhan, Jagsir Singh Sadhuwala, Mehar Singh Theri, Harinder Singh Chanarthal Kalan, Harbhajan Singh Butter, Kulwant Singh Kishangarh Sukhdev Singh Arayanwala and Mohan Singh Dhamana etc. Balbir Singh Rajewal, Harmeet Singh Qadian, Buta Singh Burjgill, Harjinder Singh Tanda, Manjit Singh Dhaner and many other leaders were also present on the occasion. The stage was conducted by Inderpal Singh, Pritpal Singh, Gurmeet Singh Mahima, Sukhwinder Daravan and Chamkaur Singh.