Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took a train to Punjab where he will visit a wholesale market Khanna Mandi, Gobindgarh and Ambala to understand the plight of farmers who are demanding compensation for crops lost due to unseasonal rainfall — as well as the fear of losing their land due to the proposed land bill.
Speaking to reporters before boarding his train, Gandhi said: "Land is being snatched from farmers who give grain to this country. I'm going to visit farmers in Punjab to understand their plight. Land acquisition is the central issue."
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. PTI
When asked by a reporter whether he was making the whole issue political, Gandhi quipped: "What does the BJP expect me to do? Be non political?"
Earlier today, rail traffic in Punjab remained disrupted for the second consecutive day as members of factions of Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) continued their protest at Mansa, Barnala and Amritsar by squatting on tracks protesting "tardy" wheat procurement and value cut imposed by the Centre.
Farmers owing allegiance to BKU (Ekta), BKU (Ugrahan) and Kisan Sangarsh Samiti are protesting at rail lines at Mansa railway station, Barnala Chowki at Barnala and Devi Dass Pura at Amritsar, disrupting the rail traffic, BKU (U) General Secretary Sukhdev Singh said.
Railway officials said that a number of trains bound for various destinations, including Amritsar and Bathinda, have been short terminated due to the blockade on tracks.
The trains would return from the short terminated places, the officials said, adding that those wishing to cancel tickets would be given full refund.
The protest will continue till 4 pm on Tuesday and after that a meeting of farmers will chalk out the next line of action, Singh said. He also alleged that police have taken some 20 farmers into preventive custody.
"We want the procurement process to be smooth... burden has been put on farmers by imposing the value cut which should be removed and procurement of wheat must be expedited," he said.
He said that procurement agencies have refused to lift the grains at Tarn Taran, Amritsar and Moga mandis.
"The government has approached us for talks, but our stand is clear that wheat procurement must start forthwith and (should be) hassle free," he said.
On Monday, rail services in Punjab were severely hit after farmers led by BKU stopped trains at several places on New Delhi-Amritsar route to protest against tardy wheat procurement and demanded higher compensation for crops damaged due to inclement weather.
Rail traffic had remained affected on Ambala-Amritsar-Delhi and Bathinda-Delhi sections.
Meanwhile, rail authorities cancelled some trains besides diverting a few and rescheduling others in the wake of farmers' protest.
Bhartiya Kisan Union Ekta (Ugrahan) and (Ekta) and Kisan Sangarsh Committee had jointly organised "Rail Roko" agitation for 28 hours that started yesterday afternoon to highlight their demands for compensation over crop loss due to unseasonal rain and relaxation in procurement norms.
They have also been demanding a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal over and above MSP of wheat.
With PTI inputs
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