Rail Roko: Protesters block railway tracks in Punjab, Haryana, commuters hit
Chandigarh, Oct 18: Farmers in Punjab squatted on rail tracks on Monday morning as part of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha's six-hour 'rail roko' protest demanding the dismissal and arrest of Union Minister Ajay Mishra in connection with the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri.
A railway official said four sections of the Ferozepur division were blocked by the protesters. The Ferozepur-Fazilka section in Ferozepur city and the Ferozepur-Ludhiana section at Ajitwal in Moga were affected, the official said, reports PTI.
The stir disrupted the movement of trains in both the states, causing inconvenience to passengers who could be seen waiting for long hours with their baggage.
Protests were held at many places, including Punjab's Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Moga, Patiala and Ferozepur and Haryana's Charkhi Dadri, Sonipat, Kurukshetra, Jind, Karnal and Hisar. Protesting farmers, including women, raised slogans against the BJP-led government and demanded the arrest of Ajay Mishra.
Security was deployed at railway stations in the wake of the 'rail roko' protest. Farmers sat on rail tracks in several sections including the Ferozepur-Fazilka section in Ferozepur city and the Ferozepur-Ludhiana section at Ajitwal in Moga, officials said. In a statement, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions spearheading the agitation against the Centre's three agri laws, had said "protests will be intensified until justice is secured" in the Lakhimpur Kheri case.
During the 'rail roko' protest, all train traffic will be stopped from 10 am till 4 pm on Monday, the SKM had said. "To press for its demand for MoS Home Ajay Mishra's dismissal and arrest, so that justice can be secured in the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre, Samyukt Kisan Morcha has announced a nation-wide Rail Roko programme. "SKM put out a call to its constituents to stop rail traffic for six hours on October 18 between 10 am and 4 pm.
The SKM asks for this action to be taken up peacefully, without any destruction and damage of any kind to any railway property," it had said. At Ludhiana railway station -- one of the busiest in Punjab -- a person headed for Jodhpur rued that he came to know about the protest after reaching the station. He appealed to farmer leaders to lay siege to the residences of politicians rather than harassing the common man.
"They should think about the public." A man waiting for his train at Ludhiana station with his family said they have to rush for Gonda in Uttar Pradesh as one of their relatives has died. At Patiala railway station, Dinesh Joshi searched frantically for milk and hot water for his child as the train he was travelling in had stopped due to farmers' protest.
A group of protests put up a banner with 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' written on it in front of a train forced to stop at Moga. They also carried photos of four farmers killed in the Lakhimpur violence.
Demanding
the
arrest
of
Union
Minister
Ajay
Mishra,
Kisan
Mazdoor
Sangharsh
Committee
general
secretary
Sarwan
Singh
Pandher
on
Monday
said
the
KMSC
will
hold
protests
at
20
places
in
11
districts
of
Punjab.
Four
of
the
eight
people
who
died
in
the
violence
on
October
3
were
farmers,
allegedly
knocked
down
by
a
vehicle
carrying
BJP
workers.
Angry
farmers
then
allegedly
lynched
some
people
in
the
vehicles.
The
other
dead
included
two
BJP
workers
and
their
driver.
Farmers have claimed that Ashish Mishra was in one of the vehicles, an allegation denied by him and Ajay Mishra who say they can produce evidence to prove he was at an event at that time. Ashish Mishra was arrested in the case on October 9.
with PTI inputs