Captain expresses concern as farmer
- November 24, 2020
- Updated: 02:06 am
DW BUREAU / chandigarh
With a farmer outfit in Amritsar refusing to lift its blockade of passenger trains, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday said this will put people to major inconvenience and may have grave consequences for the state. He said by striking the discordant note, the farmers' union is acting against the interests of Punjab and its people. The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee has refused to budge from its stand on clearing rail tracks for passenger trains till the farm laws issue is resolved. However, 30 other farmers' bodies have already announced to lift the blockade.
When all other farmers' organisations had decided unanimously to withdraw from the tracks to allow both goods and passenger trains to move in the state for the next 15 days, this one union's decision is not understandable, said Amarinder Singh in a statement here. This would alienate the committee from people, he said cautioning it against taking such a harsh stand, which could lead them losing the support of the masses. "When the state government and every person in Punjab have been extending their full support to the farmers, why is this union taking a stance against their own state," he asked.
He said the committee should not do anything to derail the process of negotiation and discussion. It is in the interest of all, including farmers themselves, to find a solution to the problems unleashed by the central laws, on which every section of Punjab's populace as well as his government are standing shoulder to shoulder with the farming community, said the CM. The message that is emanating from the "adamant" stand of the committee is that the union is not really interested in breaking the stalemate on the farm laws issue, Amarinder Singh said. In any case, said the CM, blocking a one-odd track will serve no purpose even for the committee, which incidentally has chosen to stay away from the meeting convened by him on Saturday to urge the farm unions to lift their blockade. Farmers under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee have been protesting against the farm laws since September 24.
Nearly two months after the rail blockade by Punjab farmers against the Centre's farm laws, the railway authorities on Monday operated two goods trains under its Ferozepur division. The trains were run after the inspection of all tracks falling under the Ferozepur division, officials said. The Ferozepur division caters to needs of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and a part of Himachal Pradesh. "Two goods trains, one empty and other loaded, were run at 2 pm on Monday," said Divisional Railway Manager (Ferozepur Division) Rajesh Aggarwal.
A freight train carrying gypsum from Jammu via Kathua to Lucknow was operated, said Aggarwal, adding that an empty freight train was started from Jalandhar for Delhi. Talking to the media, he said a passenger train to Haridwar will resume its operation from Amritsar on Tuesday morning. "Similarly, the way things are being planned, other trains will also be resumed," he said. Aggarwal said all rail tracks under the Ferozepur division, whether they were in Punjab or Jammu and Kashmir, were inspected by teams of the Government Railway Police and the Railway Protection Force. "The inspection was also carried out on Monday morning," he said. Various Punjab farmers' bodies protesting against the Centre's recently enacted farm laws had announced to lift their blockade of passenger trains for 15 days from Monday. The operation of goods trains in the state had remained suspended for nearly two months, except on October 22 and 23. Farmers had resorted to the 'rail roko' agitation on September 24 over the Centre's three farm laws. Though they had allowed goods trains in the state but were not allowing passenger trains.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Tarun Chugh on Monday hit back at Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for calling his party a "non-entity" in Punjab and said they will form the next government in the state. Amarinder on Saturday had dismissed the BJP as a "non-entity" and had said that it would not be able to win a single seat without an alliance partner in the 2022 assembly polls. Slamming Amarinder Singh, Chugh said a "childish" statement coming from a senior Congress leader clearly demonstrates how he is "cut off" from the ground realities. In a statement, Chugh said the BJP will form the next government in Punjab.
(editor@dailyworld.in)