Upset over crackdown on farmers, BKU (Ugrahan) to skip meeting called by Punjab govt
Chandigarh (PTI): Amid the crackdown on the protesting farmers by Punjab Police, Bharti Kisan Union (Ugrahan) has said it would not be part of a meeting with farmers leaders called by the Punjab government on Friday.
On Thursday, leaders of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) said the Punjab government has invited them for a meeting with state Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian on Friday.
BKU (Ugrahan) was also invited to the meeting. The invitation came ahead of the SKM's call for a march to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on March 26.
BKU (Ugrahan) said while it favours dialogues to resolve any issue, "the question arises whether having the meeting under these circumstances (detention of farmers) is right".
"What is the guarantee that those invited for the talks will not be arrested later," BKU (Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan asked in a video message.
"...So, we have decided that we will not be part of the meeting," the BKU chief said.
The SKM and the BKU (Ugrahan) were not part of the over a year-long farmers' protests at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Haryana and Punjab.
The SKM (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) spearheaded the protests since February last year before Punjab Police cleared the two protest sites on Wednesday.
The police also detained several protesting farmers, including some prominent leaders such as Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal in Mohali, and demolished all the temporary structures at both the border points, leading to traffic restoration on the busy Shambhu-Ambala highway after more than a year.
Vehicular movement on the Khanauri border point is also set to resume.
The BKU (Ugrahan) chief also claimed that many farmers owing allegiance to the SKM were taken into custody on Thursday during protests at some parts of Punjab against the police action.
It is still not clear how many farmers have been arrested by the police, he said.
The SKM is demanding implementation of the state's agricultural policy, purchase of six crops at MSP by the state government, a legal framework for debt relief after coordinating with the Centre, ownership rights of land tillers, and payment of sugarcane arrears.
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Declare cow as Gujarat's `Rajya Mata': Congress leader in assembly
Gandhinagar, Mar 28 (PTI): The Congress on Friday asked the BJP government in Gujarat to bring a bill to recognise the cow as "Rajya Mata" or state mother to ensure that the "holy" animal is protected.
Congress Legislative Party leader Amit Chavda made the demand during a discussion in the state assembly on a bill introduced by the government for the regulation of bovine breeding.
Before Chavda, BJP MLA D K Swami said the cow is considered a mother in Hindu culture.
He went on to say that Speaker Shankar Chaudhary and deputy Speaker Jethabhai Bharwad do not need reading glasses because they drink cow milk regularly.
"Our Speaker and deputy Speaker do not have glasses because they consume cow milk. We believe in cows, not buffalos. Though we also need buffalos, that is a separate issue. The holy cow is our mother. It is a symbol of Earth," said Swami, supporting the Gujarat Bovine Breeding (Regulation) Bill.
Agriculture minister Raghavji Patel, who introduced the bill, recovered from health problems recently due to the "blessings of cow", said the BJP MLA.
Congress's Amit Chavda claimed that cows were suffering in Gujarat because large tracts of `gauchar' or grazing land were given away to industrialist.
"In Hindu culture, the cow is considered a mother. That is why we pray to the cow on auspicious occasions. But cows are now suffering because the government gave away nearly 103 crore square meters of land used as gauchar (grazing land) to industrial houses through sale or lease," the opposition leader alleged.
As per the figures shared by the state government in the assembly, nearly 2,800 villages do not have designated grazing land, Chavda said.
"We all should be worried about the situation of cows in these villages. After the loss of gauchar land, our cows have no other option than to eat plastic and other waste on the city roads," he added.
Though the state government has framed laws against cow slaughter, it is also earning revenue from the export of meat otherwise, the Congress leader further said.
The government should also give more grants to cow shelters, he added.
"I urge the state government to bring a bill to declare cow our 'Rajya Mata' (state mother). We have already submitted a private member's Bill to the Speaker regarding the same. But I demand that the government bring a bill....That will ensure that cows get proper food, shelter and treatment," he said.
The bill was passed unanimously.
On the last day of the Budget session, two other Bills -- The Gujarat Land Revenue (Amendment) Bill and The Gujarat Fisheries (Amendment) Bill -- were also passed unanimously.
