Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee's protest against farm laws enters 14th day
Oct 07, 2020
Amritsar (Punjab) [India], October 7 : The Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee (KMSC) continued with its 'Rail Roko Andolan' for the 14th day on Wednesday as a symbol of protest against the three farm laws, which were passed recently in the Parliament.
The 'Rail Roko' agitation was initiated by the KMSC in Punjab on September 24 and was scheduled to conclude on September 26, but now it has been extended by several days.
The protesters under the banner of the KMSC have blocked the railway tracks by putting up a tent on the railway lines. They are raising anti-government slogans at Devidaspura, a village on the city outskirts and demanded rollback of all the farm laws.
The KMSC had received an invite to discuss their issues related to the farm laws by the Agriculture Ministry. "Your committee has expressed concerns over the Farm Bills (now laws). I would like to invite you to a meeting on October 8 at Krishi Bhawan, Delhi. We would like to address your concerns," said Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare in a letter to General Secretary, Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee.
"We got a telephone call from Union Agriculture Minister yesterday. He also sent a mail asking us to come to Delhi for a meeting on October 8. We have decided that we won't participate in any meeting as the government is not serious," informed Sarvan Singh Pandher, State Secretary of KMSC.
The three laws - Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Service Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 - were passed in the monsoon session of parliament.
