Tribune News Service

Mansa, January 3

Former Union Minister and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal today faced protests from farmers during her visit to villages in the Budhlada subdivision of Mansa district. Later, she cancelled her four programmes in villages.

Farmers staged a protest claiming that the SAD and Harsimrat had supported the contentious agricultural Bills when these were tabled in the Cabinet and now they were befooling the people.

Hundreds of people raised slogans and tried to gherao her, but the police escorted her convoy out of the area. This was her first visit to an area in her constituency after her resignation from the Union Cabinet.

Harsimrat had come here to pay condolences to the families of farmers who died during the agitation. The farmers hailed from Gurddi, Bachhuana, Dharmapura, Bare, Dodra, Boha and Bhadra villages.

However, in Dodra and Bhadra villages, locals and activists of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan, Dakaunda and Qadian) groups, started staging protests against her.

A message was also sent by family members of Piara Singh, a farmer who died during the agitation and hailed from Dharampura village, that they did not want to meet Harsimrat, said sources. This was confirmed by Vasava Singh, a leader of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Dakaunda).

On the other hand, Harsimrat alleged that the protests were a ploy of opposition parties.

Claiming that the SAD was still with the farmers, she said, “I left the Cabinet and NDA. Even today, I am standing shoulder to shoulder with the farmers in their struggle against the Modi government at the Centre.”

“I did not sign any document in favour of these laws. I opposed the enactment of the laws,” Harsimrat said. Appealing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to meet the protesting farmers, she said he should redress their grievances and repeal the laws.