Ludhiana, December 22

AITUC unions will observe Wednesday as ‘skip lunch’ day to express solidarity with the relay hunger strike of the joint front of the farmers’ organisations, said AITUC national general secretary Amarjeet Kaur here on Tuesday.

She said the Central Government was trying to sidestep genuine demands of the farmers. The demands which were not only in the interest of the farmers but also in the interest of the public and the nation.

“The Centre, including the Prime Minister, are resorting to downright falsehoods to malign the farmers’ struggle, all for the benefit of their corporate masters,” she said.

The trade unions of the country have been supporting the demand of repealing the three farm laws, the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020, as well as the forced codification of labour laws without any proper consultations with the unions or any discussion inside the Parliament, ignoring all parliamentary norms. “We support the farmers’ demand for a law ensuring minimum support price (MSP) for farm produce. We appreciate the growing unity between workers and the farmers in the national interest and should strive for strengthening it further,” the AITUC leader stated.

Meanwhile, the Ludhiana district unit of the Communist Party of India (CPI) has called upon all its units and activists to skip lunch on Wednesday in support of the protesting farmers, said CPI district secretary DP Maur.

50K masks sent to farmers on Singhu border

As many as 50,000 masks have been sent by Ludhiana Mediways Hospital and Gurmail Medicare to protect state farmers from Covid-19, who have been protesting against the new farm Acts of the Central Government for the past around one month on the Singhu Border in Delhi. These specially made masks can be reused after washing.

Bhagwan Singh Bhau, chairman of the hospital and owner of Gurmail Medicare, said the ongoing fight with the Central Government against the farm Acts was not only for the farmers, but also for every citizen of the country. People from every community, class and various regions are helping farmers in their own way due to this.

Director of the Department of Medicine and Member of Punjab Medical Council Karmaveer Goyal said the second wave of the Covid pandemic was going on and even now, the number of positive cases had not decreased. At present, mask and social distancing were considered to be the best solution. Hence, over 50,000 masks had been sent to the farmer brothers to protect them from Covid. Bhau said more masks would be sent, if needed. Besides, the farmers would also be helped in other ways.

He said if the farmers lose their battle today, it would be the defeat of every man who fills his stomach with food. — TNS