Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Tuesday announced a ‘sangharsh’ programme to get the agricultural Bills reversed, including a state-wide ‘chakka jam’ on September 25 as well as a simultaneous ‘kisan march’ from all three Sikh religious ‘Takths’ to Mohali on October 1 to hand over a memorandum for the President of India to the State Governor.
The decisions were taken at a meeting of the party’s core committee, which also decided that SAD president would visit various parts of the State to interact with the party cadre from September 26 to 29.
“The core committee decided to hold a ‘chakka jam’ across the State on September 25. Party leaders and workers have been asked to hold ‘chakka jam’ in all constituencies in league with farmers, khet mazdoor (farm labourers), and arhtiyas (commission agents). The party will observe a three-hour programme from 11 am to 2 pm,” said SAD spokesman and former minister Daljit Singh Cheema, adding that the party workers have, however, been asked not to come in way of emergency services.
The core committee also decided to hold a ‘kisan march’ from state’s all three religious ‘Takths’ (temporal seats) — Akal Takth Sahib (Amritsar), Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda), and Keshgarh Sahib (Sri Anandpur Sahib) — on October 1.
While the SAD president would lead the march from Damdama Sahib, former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal would lead the march from Akal Takth Sahib, and Prof Prem Singh Chandumajr and Daljit Singh Cheema would lead the march from Sri Keshgarh Sahib; and the senior party leaders would participate in the march.
The march would culminate at the Dussehra ground in Mohali following which a delegation of senior party leaders would give a memorandum to the Punjab Governor for the President Ram Nath Kovind.
SAD TO APPROACH ALL LIKE MINDED PARTIES
After cropping of fissures between its age old ally, the BJP, over the farm bills, the SAD core committee has decided to contact all likeminded regional parties across the country to evolve a joint strategy to forge a united fight to get the anti-farmer Bills revoked. The party also resolved to pursue all logical steps to ensure the discrimination being meted out to the farmers was removed.
SUKHBIR ASKS CM TO HOLD SPECIAL ASSEMBLY SESSION TO REVOKE AMENDED APMC ACT
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday asked the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to hold a special assembly session immediately to revoke the amended State Agriculture Produce Markets Committee (APMC) Act of 2017. “The Chief Minister should not practice deceit with farmers by shedding crocodile tears at their fate while he is the author of the same legislation in Punjab and continues to stand by his own anti-farmer Act,” said Sukhbir. He asked the Chief Minister to tell the farmers and ‘khet mazdoor’ of Punjab why he is refusing to rescind the State APMC Act, 2017, which he has implemented in his own State as CM. “Could you show moral courage to disassociate yourself from the Congress’ 2019 manifesto which called for removing APMC Act all together,” he questioned the CM while asking him to apologize to the farming community for encouraging corporatization of the farm sector by accepting the Montek Singh Ahluwalia committee report which calls for reducing procurement of foodgrain. He asked the chief minister to scrap the committee and reject its report which he termed as a death warrant for Punjab farmers.