Statement of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha on the events related to the visit of the Prime Minister to Punjab on 5th January
On receiving the news of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to Punjab on January 5, 10 farmer organizations affiliated to the Samyukta Kisan Morcha had announced a symbolic protest for the arrest of Ajay Mishra Teni and other outstanding demands. For this purpose, programs of protests and effigy burning were announced at village level across Punjab on January 2 and at district and tehsil headquarters on January 5. There was no program to stop the Prime Minister’s visit or obstruct his program.
As per the pre-determined schedule, peaceful protests were held at every district and tehsil headquarters of Punjab on 5th January. When some farmers were stopped by the police administration from going to the district headquarters of Ferozepur, they protested by sitting on the road at many places. Of these, was that flyover of Pyarayana too where the Prime Minister’s convoy came, stopped and went back. The farmers protesting there had no concrete information that the Prime Minister’s convoy was going to pass through. They got this information from the media after the Prime Minister’s return.
It is clear from the video of the occasion that the protesting farmers did not even make any effort to go towards the Prime Minister’s convoy. Only a group with BJP flag and raising “Narendra Modi Zindabad” slogan had reached near that convoy. Therefore, the threat to the life of the Prime Minister seems completely concocted.
It is a matter of great regret that to cover up the failure of his rally, the Prime Minister has tried to malign both the state of Punjab and the farmers’ movement by using the pretext of “somehow his life was saved”. The whole country knows that if there is a threat to life, then it is for the farmers, from the criminals like Ajay Mishra Teni becoming ministers and roaming freely. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha expects the Prime Minister of the country to not make such irresponsible statements keeping in mind the dignity of his post.
Issued by-
Balbir Singh Rajewal, Dr. Darshan Pal, Gurnam Singh Chaduni, Hannan Molla, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Shivkumar Sharma (Kakka ji), Yudhveer Singh, Yogendra Yadav
