THE NEWS FREEDOM
CHANDIGARH, FEBRUARY 22
Punjab Cabinet Minister, Harbhajan Singh, on Thursday expressed outrage over the alleged killing of young farmer Shubhkaran Singh by Haryana Police and demanded immediate action from the Union government. The Cabinet Minister condemned the actions of the Haryana Police, stating, “It is deeply troubling that Haryana Police resorted to violence against farmers at a particular time when their leadership was in a meeting to consider the Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda’s invitation for talks.
Harbhajan Singh further said that the farmers of the world’s largest democracy have the democratic right to peacefully protest for their legitimate demands. He emphasized that attempts to divide Punjab’s farmers from the rest of the country could endanger the stability of the region. “The farmers’ demands are not regional, but represent concerns of farmers nationwide,” he said while adding, “The Haryana government’s tactics to stop the farmers at the Punjab-Haryana border are blatant abuses of power.”
The incidents at the Shambhu and Khinauri border, where farmers are being prevented from reaching Delhi, exposed the heavy-handed tactics being used by the Haryana government to suppress farmer protests and this raises concerns about the safety and rights of farmers of Haryana also, he said.