Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Monday claimed that the nationwide ‘Rail Roko’ protest by the farmer unions to press for a host of demands was ‘successful’.
The ‘rail roko’ protest was staged on Sunday, between 12 noon and 4 pm, amid the ‘Delhi Chalo’ call by the agitating farmers.
Speaking to ANI on Monday, the farmer leader said, “A rail blockade was successfully enforced across six states yesterday. It was our most successful programme since we launched the protests. As for our strategy or roadmap going forward, we will hold a meeting soon and flesh out the details. The strategy will be decided by both our forums in the meeting.”
Farmers, who have been protesting for almost a month now after putting forward a host of demands that include a legal guarantee on MSP for their produce, withdrawal of police cases and loan write-offs, among others, squatted on railway tracks at many places in Punjab on Sunday as part of the ‘rail roko’ protest called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha.
Farmers blocked several railway tracks, including the one at Jalandhar Cantt.
The protesting farmers have been staying put at the Shambhu and the Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana after their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march was stopped by security personnel on February 13.
Among the other demands put forward by the protesters are pensions for farmers and farm labourers, debt waivers and no hike in electricity tariff.
During the last round of talks with the farmers’ delegation, which ended past midnight on February 18, the panel of three Union ministers made an offer to buy five crops–moong dal, urad dal, tur dal, maize, and cotton–from farmers at MSP for five years through central agencies.
However, the protesting farmers turned down the offer and returned to their protest sites.