Ludhiana, Nov 22 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Monday said the farmers' agitation against three farm laws will be always remembered as a 'watershed movement' to protect the democratic and human rights in the country.
The Chief Minister along with Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu handed over letters of appointment to five next of kin of farmers who died during the agitation. Channi said this movement has upheld the ethos of democratic values and human rights in the country.
He said this agitation will ever inspire the countrymen to fight for their democratic and human rights while relentlessly waging a peaceful battle. The Punjab government is always with the food growers of the country, he said.
The Chief Minister reiterated that instead of sitting idle, all Punjabis and, especially, the farmers have to remain vigilant until the draconian farm laws are repealed.
He said fresh conspiracies are being hatched to harm the interests of the farmers besides derailing progress and prosperity of Punjab. Making a scathing attack on those leaders who are welcoming the announcement of Prime Minister to repeal the laws, Channi said these pseudo nationalist leaders are part and parcel of these anti-Punjab conspiracies.
The Chief Minister questioned these leaders to explain the rationale behind merrymaking as there is hardly any reason to rejoice since Punjab had lost more than 700 sons and daughters during the struggle.
He said those hailing the decision are supporting the atrocities meted out by the Union government to the agitating farmers, which was undesirable and unwarranted.
Channi said it was shameful that for the sake of their vested political interests some political leaders are hell bent upon sacrificing the interests of the state, especially the farmers.
The Chief Minister said that the announcement regarding repealing of black laws was baseless until and unless guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops is not made.
He said the Union government must ensure that each and every grain of the farmers is lifted on MSP so that the exploitation of farmers in hands of private players is avoided.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday favoured the need to start breeding crocodiles in the state's rivers, especially the Beas and the Sutlej, as they were found in abundance six decades ago.
Facing massive statewide agitation by farmers over power outages, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday issued directions to ensure eight-hour uninterrupted power supply and to purchase deficient power from outside the state at any cost to prevent any supply disruption in the ongoing sowing season.
Bengaluru City Police Commissioner, Kamal Pant, told reporters that the police teams were forced to open fire after firing warning shots in the air as the accused persons resisted the search teams' efforts to nab them.
On the occasion of Bhagat Kabir Ji Jayanti, the Chief Minister also announced that his government will soon disburse Rs 560 crore to the landless farm labourers under the Debt Waiver Scheme.
Custom officials at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here have seized 80 iPhones from two passengers arriving from Sharjah. They found the iPhones worth over Rs 1 crore while checking the luggage of the two passengers who had arrived by flight G9-458 on Wednesday.
