Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi : Farmers in Punjab and Haryana 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 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
The stir disrupted the movement of trains in both the states, causing inconvenience to passengers who could be seen waiting for long hours.
Farmers block rail traffic in Ludhiana. Tribune photo: Himanshu Mahajan
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) had said “protests will be intensified until justice is secured” in the Lakhimpur Kheri case.
During the ‘rail roko’ protest, all train traffic would be stopped from 10 am to 4 pm on Monday, the SKM had said.
Farmers block traffic at Charkhi Dadri.
“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, the SKM has announced a nation-wide Rail Roko programme.
“The 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.
Farmers block rail traffic in Sirsa.
At Ludhiana railway station, 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 had to rush for Gonda in Uttar Pradesh as one of their relatives had died.
At Patiala railway station, one 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 protesters 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 (KMSC) general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher on Monday said the KMSC would hold protests at 20 places in 11 districts of Punjab.
