Members of the Kashmir National Struggle and Support Committee at Mohali railway station. (Express photo by Kamleshwar Singh) Members of the Kashmir National Struggle and Support Committee at Mohali railway station. (Express photo by Kamleshwar Singh)

Denied permission to organise a mega rally in Mohali and protest march to Chandigarh over the situation in J&K, 13 organisations under the banner of the Bharti Kisan Union (Ugrahan) on Sunday held protest dharnas in 14 districts, blocking various highways leading to the state capital.

The organisations had held several district-level protests across the state earlier this month over the Centre’s decision to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted special status to J&K.

Punjab has witnessed several agitations against the revoking of Article 370.

The Kashmir National Struggle and Support Committee, formed by these organisations, had announced on Saturday that it will stage dharnas wherever its members are stopped by police. Posters put up for the Sunday rally have pictures of children with eye injuries from pellet guns.

Protesters sit on a road at Bhucho Mandi, Bathinda, expressing opposition to the revocation of Article 370. (Express photo by Kamleshwar Singh) Protesters sit on a road at Bhucho Mandi, Bathinda, expressing opposition to the revocation of Article 370. (Express photo by Kamleshwar Singh)

Dharnas were organised at Bhucho Mandi, Rampura and Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda area blocking the Bathinda- Chandigarh highway after buses full of protestors going to Chandigarh were stopped midway. In Barnala, a dharna was organised on the Barnala-Chandigarh road near Badbar area.

Two other agitations were staged along the Moga-Barnala road near Himmatpura and the Dharamkot-Ludhiana road near Kishanpura area. In Mansa, a dharna was held on the Mansa intersection, the Barnala-Mansa state highway, in Muktsar, Faridkot, Sangrur, Ludhiana, Patiala etc. State highways were blocked from 10 am to 2 pm.

‘Don’t understand why state govt changed its stand’

“Protestors from Amritsar and Gurdaspur managed to reach till Ropar, where they were stopped and hence they staged dharna on the Ropar-Chandigarh state highway from 10 am to 2 pm. Likewise, dharnas were also held at Kurali, outskirts of Mohali, as people were stopped from entering Mohali,” Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan, general secretary of BKU (Ugrahan) told The Indian Express. “We were allowed to hold rallies and protest marches in Bathinda, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Gurdaspur etc. on September 10, and took out a protest march from Bathinda city as well. Hence we felt surprised at how the state government changed its stand and denied us permission for the Mohali rally for Sunday. It would have been a collective rally and a first mega attempt in support of Kashmiris who are living under severe restrictions as of now.”

(Express photo by Kamleshwar Singh) (Express photo by Kamleshwar Singh)

The organisations that were part of this protest were: Bharti Kisan Union (Ugrahan), a farmer union active in Malwa Punjab, Pendu Khet Mazdoor Union, Textile Mazdoor Union, Karkhana Mazdoor Union, Punjab Students Union etc. These groups said they don’t support any political organisations and hence they should not be linked with anyone. Lachhman Singh Sewewala, president of the Pendu Khet Mazdoor Union said, “We neither take nor give support to any political party. Our grudge is that when we were not stopped for district-level dharnas which we organised in different districts of Punjab from September 3 to 10, why did the government stop us from organising a rally in Mohali? On one hand, Rahul goes to Kashmir, Capt Amarinder calls August 5 ‘Black day’, invites Kashmiri students for lunch at his residence on Eid, and on the other hand, he stopped us from organising today’s rally.”

Effigies burnt, many detained in Mohali

Protestors were carrying effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh in every bus. The effigies were burnt wherever they were stopped.

Jhanda Singh, president of the BKU (Ugrahan) and Kokri Kalan, said, “People of Kashmir were not asked about their choices before removal of Article 370 and 35-A which is against the written agreement. Rather, after its removal, restrictions have been imposed in Kashmir with claims that all is good in Kashmir. In Punjab, Kashmiri students and people working here are not becoming part of our struggle as they fear trouble. We are becoming their voice, after all someone has to raise the flag.”

Hundreds of women were also part of the dharnas. In Mohali, around 30 persons were detained by police, and released later. Heavy police force had been deployed in the state highways in most districts of Malwa and protestors going in buses with banners, were stopped on the outskirts of districts like Bathinda, Sangrur, Muktsar, Barnala, Patiala, Ludhiana, from where they had started.

The Kashmir National Struggle and Support Committee said it will be calling yet another meeting in the near future to decide its next course of action.

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