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News Desk: Angry farmers blocked multiple roads across Haryana on Saturday afternoon to protest “brutal” police action against fellow farmers in neighbouring Karnal district, as they were protesting a meeting led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to discuss a forthcoming municipal election.
Later in the day there was a second lathi charge – this time on farmers in Amritsar who were agitating against Prime Minister Modi’s virtual inauguration of a renovated Jallianwala Bagh memorial.
The protests affected traffic on major roads and highways, including the Delhi-Amritsar, the Panchkula-Shimla, Fatehabad-Chandigarh, Gohana-Panipat, Jind-Patiala, Ambala-Chandigarh and Hisar-Chandigarh highways, and led to a jam at the Shambhu toll plaza leading to Ambala.
Karnal lathicharge incident
Farmers were charged down by the police after they tried to stop state BJP chief OP Dhankar’s convoy.
Mr Dhankar was going to the state-level meet of BJP leaders and elected reps in Karnal. As his convoy exited the Bastara toll plaza (between Karnal and Panipat), farmers allegedly hit the cars with sticks. Reports said the farmers tried to reach that meeting, which was being held about 30 kilometres away.
The police responded with a lathi charge that left several farmers injured; videos circulating on social media showed many people with bloody shirts and bandages.
“Many farmers were injured after police brutally lathi charged them without provocation. Some could be seen with blood all over their clothes” said Haryana Bhartiya Kisan Union chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni.
The police, however, said only mild force was used as protesters were affecting traffic.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha – the umbrella body under which many farmer groups have united to protest the farm laws – slammed the police for their “brutal” actions.
Reaction of the Congress
The Congress slammed the BJP government of Haryana over this incident. Taking to Twitter, Rahul Gandhi tweeted “Again the blood of farmers is shed… and India bows its head in shame” and along with that he tweeted a horrifying photograph – of a man whose white kurta pajama was splattered with blood, and who was holding a bloodied cloth to tend to wounds on his head. The man is being led away by two others.
In a video statement, president of the Haryana Congress, Kumari Selja said “What happened to our farmers in Karnal is a matter of great concern… the Congress party condemns this attack in the strongest possible language. What you saw today was evidence of the BJP’s disregard for farmers and their safety…”
She referred to a video that has been shared widely, in which Ayush Sinha, the District Magistrate of Karnal, can be heard telling police to “break their head”.
“The Congress has always, and will always, support our farmers, who were never mistreated when we were in power. Now the District Magistrate is telling police to ‘break their heads’… is this democracy? The way the BJP and Khattar government have treated people… Haryana will not tolerate” she said.
