BATHINDA: Farmer outfits of Punjab have decided to hold protests across the state on June 12 against the killing of five farmers in police firing in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh during a stir for better farm produce prices.

Eight farmer and farm labourer outfits of Punjab announced this after a meeting at Moga on Thursday.

The organizations have demanded registration of murder cases against policemen responsible for the killing of farmers after MP home minister Bhupendra Singh confirmed that the protesters died in police firing. They also demanded farm loan waiver across the country, and urged Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh to fulfil his promise of complete loan waiver in the budget session.

The Congress government has hinted at deferring the loan waiver as the committee of experts formed to look into the matter has sought more time to give its recommendations. The farmers, however, want it to be announced at the earliest, and attribute the rise in the number of farm suicides in Punjab to the delay in the announcement of the debt waiver.

A senior officer in the agriculture department said: "The state government is very serious about addressing the grievances of farmers and acting on the recommendations of the expert committee formed to work out modalities about loan waiver. The expert committee is working on the subject, and is expected to make its recommendations soon."

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) vice-president Jhanda Singh Jethuke and BKU (Dakaunda) president Buta Singh Burjgill said: "We have unanimously decided to strongly oppose the action of the MP government in killing the protesting farmers. The farmers were not indulging in anti-national activities, but were only demanding better prices of their produce and loan waiver."

They will hold protests outside the offices of deputy commissioners across the state on June 12. "If the government fails in announcing loan waiver, we will hold a state-level convention of farmers on July 7 at Jalandhar, where the action plan will be decided to start a struggle for loan waiver," said the leaders.

They also said sought an end to the practice of collecting blank cheques from farmers while advancing loans, as these are used to force them to to repay loans.



In Video: Punjab farmers warn of another Mandsaur