Kurukshetra (Hr), Jul 20 (PTI) Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni was detained by police here while heading to Delhi for a planned farmers’ ‘mahapanchayat’ in the national capital on Tuesday against the proposed Indo-US trade deal, triggering protests at several places.
The outfit’s spokesperson, Prince Waraich, said that Charuni’s vehicle was intercepted by police on the National Highway-152D near Pehowa in Kurukshetra district on Monday.
“He was taken into custody. Later, he was escorted away by police officials,” he said.
SHO Sadar, Pehowa, Satish Kumar confirmed that Charuni was detained but refused to specify the reason for the same.
Waraich also claimed that the BKU spokesperson Rakesh Bains had been detained by police and that both leaders were being kept separately.
He said that a kisan mahapanchayat is being organised in Delhi on Tuesday on the call of the ‘Desh Bachao Morcha’, against the proposed deal. A day-long protest will also be held at “Kissan Ghat. He claimed that the Haryana police is detaining a large number of BKU workers in an attempt to prevent their participation in the protest.
Soon after news of Charuni’s detention spread, farmers gathered at the toll plaza on the Hisar-Chandigarh stretch of National Highway in the village of Thana and began a sit-in protest.
The protesters raised slogans against the government and spread mats on the road at the toll plaza and sat on them, while police personnel remained deployed to monitor the situation.
Another group of farmers of Charuni’s outfit also blocked the Shambhu Toll Plaza near Ambala which affected normal movement of vehicular traffic for some time.
The police later detained some members of BKU (Charuni) in Ambala after they blocked the Shambhu toll plaza. The normal movement of vehicular traffic was restored after some time.
Farmer organisations have been protesting against the proposed India-US trade agreement and had announced a nationwide gathering in Delhi on July 21.
Representatives from several states, including Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, were expected to participate in the event.
On July 15, the BKU had organised district-level motorcycle rallies and submitted memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi opposing the proposed trade deal.
Waraich alleged that the proposed trade deal would severely impact Indian agriculture and threaten the livelihood of farmers.
Charuni had claimed that if the agreement comes into force, agricultural products from the United States could enter the Indian market without India having the freedom to impose protective tariffs, putting domestic farmers at a severe disadvantage.
He had said several farmer organisations from across the country have united to oppose the proposed deal and have formed the ‘Bharat Bachao Morcha’. PTI Cor SUN RT RT
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