Farmers disrupt BJP’s dharna on Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal

Tribune News Service

Hisar/Yamunanagar, December 19

The BJP's one-day fast for the state's share of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) waters was disrupted by about 60 farmers, who were protesting against the Centre's three new farm laws in Fatehabad on Saturday. They broke the barricades and reached the dharna site.

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The farmers raised anti-government slogans and tried to gherao the BJP workers, including district party president Baldev Groha. The police, however, managed to rescue the party workers. They were whisked away in a vehicle and dropped at the party office, where they continued their fast.

Praveen Jorha, OBC Morcha's executive member of the BJP, said those who disrupted the dharna were activists of the Congress and the Left.

A police spokesperson said that on a complaint from a BJP worker, a case of assault and misbehaviour had been registered.

In Jagadhri, BKU activists protested against the BJP, which, they claimed, was dividing farmers by sitting on a fast demanding state's share of the SYL waters.

BJP leaders and workers staged a dharna and sat on fast at the gate of the new grain market, Jagadhri, demanding Haryana's share of the SYL waters.

Farmer leader Arjun Sudhail said, "The BJP is playing divisive politics. If the Haryana Government is concerned about farmers, we have one question for it: why did the government close the Dadupur-Nalvi canal by de-notifying the Dadupur-Nalvi Irrigation Scheme, which was useful for farmers of Yamunanagar, Ambala and Kurukshetra districts?"

In Jind district, a group of about 15 women who were part of the BJP's dharna said they knew nothing about the SYL issue and came to the dharna to demand the release of pending grants under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

In Charkhi Dadri, farmers disrupted the BJP's dharna and termed it a "joke".

The dharna, however, passed off peacefully in Hisar.

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