Punjab Police detain SKM leaders ahead of Chandigarh sit-in
Ahead of their planned protest in Chandigarh on March 5, several Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders were detained in early morning raids at their residences on Tuesday, with chief minister Bhagwant Mann hitting out at the agitating farmer unions, saying they have turned Punjab into a “state of dharnas” and caused huge losses to it. Farmers protesting against police action in Barnala. Talking to reporters at the Kharar tehsil office in Mohali, Mann said he had categorically told the farmer bodies that they should not remain under the impression that he could not take action. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha strongly condemned the Punjab Police action, terming it a “dictatorial step by the Bhagwant Mann government to suppress the democratic rights of farmers for peaceful protest”. Opposition parties criticised the AAP government for the crackdown, which came a day after talks between Mann and SKM leaders ended abruptly with the CM walking out of their meeting. “The government cannot stifle the voice of farmers with such steps,” Bharti Kisan Union (Lakhowal) general secretary Harinder Singh Lakhowal. …
