Sangrur, March 10 —Farm union activists, under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), staged a protest outside Sangrur AAP MLA Narinder Kaur Bharaj’s residence on Monday, accusing the Bhagwant Mann-led government of failing to fulfill their long-pending demands despite repeated assurances.
The protest followed the collapse of talks between farmer representatives and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in Chandigarh on March 3. The meeting, called to address nine key agricultural demands—including land rights and compensation for land acquired under the Bharatmala Project—ended abruptly when Mann walked out, accusing farmers of turning Punjab into a “dharna state” by planning road and rail blockades.
Speaking at the protest, Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan slammed the chief minister for walking away from the discussion. “If all our demands are linked to the central government, why did CM Mann spend two hours debating with us?” he questioned.
Ugrahan also accused the state government of trying to malign the farmers’ movement. “This struggle is for our rights, and we will not be silenced,” he declared.
Reacting to BJP MP Ravneet Singh Bittu’s recent remark that farmers would be jailed in Dibrugarh if the BJP came to power in 2027, Ugrahan said, “Let them dream, we won’t stop them.”
The SKM has scheduled a meeting on March 15 to decide its next course of action.