Chandigarh, September 17
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab on Friday paid homage to over 650 farmers who were martyred in protest against three black agricultural laws by taking out candle marches across Punjab. In a statement issued from the party headquarters here on Friday, AAP MLA and Kisan Wing state president Kultar Singh Sandhwa said that the AAP MLAs, Lok Sabha in-charges, district presidents, office-bearers, and volunteers observed September 17 as Black Day. He said candle marches were taken out by tying black bands at the district level across Punjab including Mansa, Bathinda, Sangrur, Barnala, Pathankot, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Jalandhar, Amritsar, and Hoshiarpur.
Along with taking out candle march, the AAP office bearers and activists assured the families of Punjab to get the black farm laws repealed, who have lost their loved ones in the farmers’ movement. Describing the black day observed by the Akali Dal Badal in Delhi on September 17 as a ‘drama’, Kultar Singh Sandhwan said that it would have been better; if ‘Badal and company’ would compensate the people of Punjab for the losses with the soot of remorse on their faces. He said the Badal family has contributed fully in enacting the black farm laws.
“If Harsimrat Kaur Badal is the Union Minister had not signed the ordinances, the black day of the farmers would never have dawned,” said Sandhwan. He said there is huge resentment in every household of Punjab including farmers across the country against the black laws made by the Narendra Modi-led central government. Sandhwan said in protest against them, the farmers who have been on dharna across the country for a year; are making sacrifices. He said the people of Punjab were betrayed by the present Captain government in Punjab; that is why the Modi government at the center made all three black agricultural laws and economically ruined agriculture, farmers, and all other dependent classes and imposed them on the country.
According to Sandhwan, Narendra Modi along with Captain Amarinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal, are equally to blame for the destruction of agriculture and dependent classes. The AAP leader demanded that one member of the family of each farmer-laborer who was martyred in the movement should be given a government job and a 100 percent loan waiver. Expressing dissatisfaction over the policy of the Punjab government to provide jobs to every member of about 200-250 families, Sandhwan described this number as too low. He said the Punjab government should take correct figures from the farmer organizations so that all about 650 martyr families could get benefits under this policy.
