Haryana Congress workers and leaders on Thursday staged demonstrations in several parts of the State against the recent baton charge on farmers in Karnal.
In Karnal, the party’s state president Kumari Selja led the demonstration and said that the policies of the BJP and its alliance partner — the Jannayak Janta Party — has been exposed time and again for ignoring the interests of farmers.
“The recent use of batons on farmers protesting in Haryana’s Karnal during a protest against BJP leaders is the latest example of the BJP-JJP’s insensitivity towards the farming community,” she said.
The party’s State president Kumari Selja said the Congress had submitted a memorandum to the Governor, Bandaru Dattatreya, seeking action against the officials involved in the violence against farmers.
“We also requested the Governor not to give his assent to the new Land Acquisition Bill passed in the Monsoon session and send it back to the Haryana Legislative Assembly for reconsideration under Article 200 of the Constitution. This Bill is anti-farmer, anti-poor and undemocratic,” she said.
Ms. Selja, in a statement, said that after the Congress party’s complaint, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought a report within four weeks from the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police of Karnal regarding the baton charge on farmers on August 28.
“The NHRC move is a welcome one. I am hopeful that this step will pave the way for justice to the farmers. I believe that the administration will submit the report to the NHRC after conducting a fair investigation and strict action will be taken against the guilty with immediate effect,” she said.
