Arrest WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by June 9: Haryana 'mahapanchayat'
Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Jun, 2023 01:08 PM
Chandigarh, June 2 (IANS) Farmers and representative of Khap panchayats, expressing solidarity with the protesting wrestlers in Delhi, on Friday gave the BJP government in the Centre an ultimatum to arrest Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is accused of sexually harassing female grapplers, by June 9 or prepare for a larger protest.
A collective and unanimous decision in this regard was taken at the ;mahapanchayat' held in Haryana's Kurukshetra town on the future strategy of wrestlers' protest.
A day earlier a 'mahapanchayat' was held in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar where it was decided that a delegation would meet President Droupadi Murmu to seek justice for the wrestlers.
In Kurukshetra, khap panchayats (community courts) of Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi were gathered to seek justice.
Addressing a huge gathering, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait warned the Central government that if no action is taken against Brij Bhushan by June 9, they will hold a larger protest along with wrestlers.
"We have taken a decision that the government must address the grievances of wrestlers and he should be arrested otherwise we will go with wrestlers to Jantar Mantar, Delhi, on June 9 and will hold panchayats across the nation," he said.
At the same time, Tikait warned the Central government that if they aren't allowed to protest at Jantar Mantar on June 9, "there will be an announcement of agitation".
The farmer leader also demanded that cases against the wrestlers, who were manhandled and detained during their march towards the new Parliament building, should be withdrawn.
"We will not compromise on anything less than the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. If this does not happen, we will go to Jantar Mantar on June 9 and hold panchayats across the nation. Cases against wrestlers should be withdrawn and the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh must happen," Tikait, the leader behind the year-long farmers' protests and forcing the Centre to repeal them, added.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday urged the national governments of India and Pakistan to simplify the procedure for obtaining permission to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib.
The Chief Minister said in line with the scheme, eye camps would be organised throughout the state where the eye sight of the people would be thoroughly checked and those found suffering from the cataract problem would be operated upon after a period of 15 days.
A Delhi court on Thursday directed Delhi Police to file an Action Taken Report (ATR) on a petition seeking an FIR against Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for his alleged controversial remarks against the protesting farmers.
The Uttar Pradesh government has given a six months' extension to the special investigation team (SIT) probing the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. The SIT had sought extension and the state government has given time to the SIT to complete the investigation and make arrests by May 2022.
This comes just days after the COP26 climate summit, where India pledged to cut emissions to net zero by 2070, reduce carbon emissions by one billion tonnes by 2030, and raise the share of renewables in the energy mix to 50 per cent, among others, before staging a last-minute climbdown opposing a commitment to "phase out" coal.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, a former judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court, to monitor the Lakhimpur Kheri violence probe and to ensure fairness and independence in the investigation.
