Chandigarh, 22nd April. Protests erupted against BJP candidates in Punjab on Sunday, as farmers voiced their discontent over unmet demands during the ongoing Lok Sabha election campaign.
In Batala, farmers demonstrated against BJP candidate Dinesh Babbu, while in Barnala, party leader Arvind Khanna faced similar opposition. These incidents add to a series of protests by farmers targeting BJP leaders during their campaign activities.
Hans Raj Hans, contesting from the Faridkot seat, Taranjit Singh Sandhu from Amritsar, and Preneet Kaur from Patiala, have already faced farmers’ ire.
At Fatehgarh Churian in Batala, protesters raised slogans against Dinesh Babbu, the BJP nominee from the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat. Police intervened to prevent the protesters from reaching the venue where Babbu and BJP supporters were holding an election-related event.
Responding to the protests, Babbu emphasized that the BJP is committed to resolving farmers’ issues through dialogue, contrasting with other political parties whom he accused of exploiting farmers for their own gains.
In another incident, BJP leader Arvind Khanna encountered farmer protests in Barnala during his campaign visit. Heavy police deployment and barricades were witnessed at the scene.
While Khanna attributed the protests to workers of the AAP rather than genuine farmers, protesters criticized the BJP government’s handling of farmer issues, alleging the use of force against them.
Meanwhile, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, BJP candidate from the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, reiterated his farming background and commitment to improving farmers’ income amidst the ongoing campaign.
The protests come amidst broader discontent among farmers, with various farmer outfits expressing dissatisfaction with the BJP-led central government’s failure to address their demands, including the enactment of a law guaranteeing minimum support prices (MSP) for crops.
The ongoing ‘Delhi Chalo’ march by farmers, led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), aims to pressure the government into meeting their demands, including a legal assurance of MSP for crops.
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