GOBINDPURA PROTEST BY CONGRESS

GOBINDPURA (Mansa), September 2: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Capt Amarinder Singh today promised the protesting farmers and landless labourers of Gobindpura that once Congress comes to power all the injustice being meted out to them by the Akali-BJP government in the state will be undone.

Accompanied by the Congress Legislative Party Leader Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, PCC vice presidents Laal Singh, Rana Sodhi, general secretary Arvind Khanna and the local MLA Mangat Rai Bansal, Capt Amarinder told the farmers outside the local Gurdwara that he and his party at the first instance will not allow any injustice to them. “But in case the government goes ahead with its decision the Congress government will provide you justice and it is just a matter of four months more”, he told a cheering crowd which included the young, the elderly and women.Beating a strong cordon of police that had been drawn from across the state to prevent Capt Amarinder and other senior leaders to reach Gobindpura, the PCC president managed his way to reach out to the protesting farmers. When some police officials tried to stop and prevent him from going to Gobindpura, Capt Amarinder told them in categoric terms, “you can’t stop me I have promised them and I will go”.

Besides the farmers whose land has been forcibly taken away by the government for a private company, a group of landless labourers, including several women also met the PCC President and told him that they have been rendered jobless and unemployed and have not been given any compensation. They said, since they owned no land and earned their livelihood by working in the fields, they did not get any compensation. With land gone they have no place to work and earn their livelihood, some women with tears in their eyes told the visiting Congress leaders.

The former Chief Minister promised them that he will come back to them in case the government did not agree to their demands. He said, his party had postponed the dharna till September 13, when the government has promised to address farmers’ demands. “If they fail we will resume our agitation and continue till you don’t get justice”, he told them.

Earlier addressing a mammoth rally attended by over one lakh people organised in support of the protesting farmers in the nearby Bareta Mandi, Capt Amarinder warned that his party will not allow the government to handover land to the Indiabulls till the farmers’ demands were not met. “Either you fulfil the demands of the farmers according to the latest land acquisition policy and to their satisfaction or we don’t allow this project to take off”, he asserted.

The PCC President asked as what was the hurry in rushing through the land acquisition when the law was coming up. He said, the state government should provide compensation to the farmers according to the Haryana land acquisition policy and one being circulated by the central government which takes long term interest of the farmers into consideration.

Capt Amarinder said, he understood the need for setting up industry for which land was needed. But, he added, this should be strictly between the farmers and the investors and government has no role to play in it. He said, the Badals were taking undue interest in the land deal as they had taken the money from the company.

Speaking on the occasion, the leader of the opposition in the Punjab assembly Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal said, the days of the Akali government were numbered. She cautioned that they were encouraging terrorism and the terrorism was raising its ugly head under their rule. She condemned the Akalis for terming late Sardar Beant Singh’s assassins as martyrs.

Prominent among those present on the occasion included Ms Santosh Charudhary, Vijay Inder Singla, Rana KP, Rana Gurjeet, Ashwani Sekhri, Kaka Randeep Nabha, Jassi Khangura, Jeet Mohinder Sidhu, Ajit Inder SinghMofar, Tej Parkash, Sukh Sarkaria, Ajaib Singh Bhatti, Sher Singh Gaggowal, Gurdeep Singh Bhaini, Brahm Mohindra, Jasbir Dimpa, Harpartap Ajnala, Sukhi Randhawa, Love Kumar Goldy, Chaudhary Jagjit, Chaudhary Santokh, Pawan Dewan, Bhupinder Sidhu, Milkait Dakha, Milkait Birmi and others.