INLD holds state-wide protests against Congress ''mis-rule''

Chandigarh, Sep 1 (UNI) Thousands of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) activists, including a large number of women, today organised meetings, processions and blockades protests across the state on the call by the party high command to protest against the ''misrule of the Congress government in Haryana and Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre.

The INLD activists and supporters also burnt effigies of the state government and its leaders to register their anger against the ''anti farmer'' policies of the Haryana government like Basmati rice, Bajra and denial of BPL cards to the rightful people. During the protests organised by INLD at district-level, the activists marched to the District Head Quarters, demanding prompt redressal of anomalies like distribution of BPL cards to ''affluent and highly connected'' families at the expense of the ''rightful poor people belonging to SC and backward sections.'' In various memoranda submitted to the Haryana governor through the Deputy Commissioners, INLD demanded that Minimum sport price of rice should be enhanced to Rs 1050 from Rs 850, Pusa 1121 should be considered a variety of Basmati rice and the export duty of Rs 800 on the rice export should be immediately scrapped.

Bajra producing farmers should be given the due MSP, who were being forced to sell the Bajra far below the MSP, INLD further demanded.

In Kurukshetra, where fine quailty rice growers are suffering due to rice millers not lifting their products, the government's ''anti-farmer policies'' were the main issue.

The INLD workers, led by a motorcade of the Haryana INLD president Ashok Kumar Arora and other leaders, marched towards the mini secretariat, putting the traffic out of gear from Kurukshetra to Pipli.

In Ambala, the procession led by state general secretary Balwinder Punia, district president Surjit Singh Sondha and women wing president Shashi Kesri, submitted a memorandum to the DC demanding better power and water supply, rectification of BPL list, better MSP for grains among others.

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