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Farm workers protest near Punjab CM Mann’s house over wages, police resort to lathi-charge

The incident came barely a fortnight after CM Mann told protesting farmers in the state to hold demonstrations outside the residences of MLAs, instead of blocking roads.

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Chandigarh: Angry over the Punjab government’s alleged failure to fulfil their demands, hundreds of farm workers Wednesday staged a protest near Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s residence in Sangrur.

The protesters have demanded hike in their daily minimum wage to Rs 700 under the MNREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) and five marla plots to Dalit farm labourers, among other things.

The incident came barely a fortnight after CM Mann told protesting farmers in the state to hold demonstrations outside the residences of MLAs, instead of blocking roads.

According to reports, the police allegedly lathicharged protesters to disperse them as they started moving towards Mann’s house. The CM, who is an MLA from Sangrur, is on a campaign trail in Gujarat ahead of the assembly elections there.

While videos of the protest and an alleged lathi-charge on demonstrators have been circulated widely on social media platforms, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Sangrur, Surendra Lamba, denied the charges.

In a statement to news agency ANI, the SSP said, “No lathicharge was done, and the protest is going on in a peaceful manner. An aggressive faction of protestors indulged in a scuffle, which was later controlled by the police. We have taken cognizance of their demands.”


Also read: ‘Who’s the real Punjab DGP?’ Mann govt’s gun order backfires as opposition calls out ‘disparity’


Opposition criticises police action

Opposition leaders in the state have, in the meanwhile, criticised the police’s alleged action against the protesters. Sukhbir Singh Badal, president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, tweeted saying Mann’s government was “raining lathis on any and every democratic protest in Punjab”.

Speaking to ThePrint, senior Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira said, “It is a shame that a government that claims to be the government of the ‘aam aadmi’ (common people) got farm labourers beaten up in this manner.”

Mann had on 18 November lashed out at farmer organisations and held them responsible for inconveniencing the public by blocking roads.

“Farmer unions are welcome to hold protests against the government. It is their right to do so. They can stage dharna outside the deputy commissioner office or outside the house of an MLA but please do not block roads and inconvenience the public,” the CM had said.

On Monday, the Punjab Police had forcibly detained a large contingent of para-Olympic sports persons protesting outside the CM’s house in Sangrur. The protesters were demanding better facilities for players in the state and government jobs. They had also brought their medals with them to throw outside Mann’s house as a show of protest.

Again, on 21 November, a group of clerks working at the Barnala DC office also protested outside Cabinet Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer’s house. He too was on a campaign trail in Gujarat at the time.


Also read: How BJP got trounced, AAP made an entry & Independents dominated in Haryana zila parishad polls


 

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