Reacting to the announcement of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (Piddi) that they would not budge from their rail blockade of passenger trains till the farm laws’ issue is resolved, the CM in a statement said that by striking this discordant note, the union was “acting against the interests of Punjab and its people”. Express Photo: Gurmeet SinghExpressing concern over the decision of one farmers’ union to not allow passenger trains to ply till the Centre accedes to their demands on the farm laws issue, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday said this would give the people a lot of inconvenience and could have grave consequences for the state.
Reacting to the announcement of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (Piddi) that they would not budge from their rail blockade of passenger trains till the farm laws’ issue is resolved, the CM in a statement said that by striking this discordant note, the union was “acting against the interests of Punjab and its people”.
When all other 31 farmer organisations had decided unanimously to withdraw from the tracks to allow both goods and passenger trains to move in the state for the next 15 days, this one union’s decision was not understandable, said Amarinder, adding that this would alienate KMSC (Piddi) from the people. He cautioned the committee against taking such a harsh stand, which could lead to them losing the support of the masses, who had so far wholeheartedly backed the farmers’ agitation against the farm laws. “When the state government and every person in Punjab has been extending their full support to the farmers, why is this union taking a stance against their own state?” he asked.
Given that both the Centre and other kisan unions had taken conciliatory steps to resolve the crisis triggered by the agricultural laws, the KMSC (Piddi) should not do anything to derail the process of negotiation and discussion, he added. It was in the interest of all, including the farmers themselves, to find a solution to the problems unleashed by the central laws, on which every section of Punjab’s populace, as well as his government, was standing shoulder to shoulder with the farming community, said the CM.
The message that was emanating from the contrarian and adamant stand of the KMSC (Piddi) was that the union was not really interested in breaking the stalemate on the farm laws issue, Amarinder said.
In any case, said the CM, blocking one-odd track would serve no purpose even for the committee, which, incidentally, had chosen to stay away from the meeting convened by him on Saturday to urge the farm unions to lift their blockade.