Youths raise slogans in support of farmers in Patiala. Tribune photo
Aman Sood
Tribune News Service
Patiala, January 6
Youth in several villages are connecting through social media and phone calls, while some are convening meetings. The purpose is to ensure that youth in large numbers reach the Delhi borders before the Republic Day, when farmer unions plan to hold a tractor rally in the National Capital.
Last week, farm unions had announced that thousands of protesting farmers would enter Delhi on January 26 and carry out a tractor parade if the three controversial laws were not repealed.
Unions, youth, farmers, labourers, arhtiyas and landlords are mobilising support for making the January 26 rally a success.
Congress leader Mansimrat Singh Riar said, “We are reaching out to everyone. We stand in solidarity with our elderly people, who have been sitting on fast in Delhi.”
He dismissed the BJP’s claims of the agitation being politically motivated. “First and foremost, I belong to the farming community. Politics takes a backseat when it comes to farmers’ struggle. This protest is of every farmer, who has been toiling hard in fields,” said Riar, who has spent a few days at the Delhi border.
For Ludhiana’s Baddowal resident Tarandeep Singh Grewal, the agitation has given him an opportunity to keep the youth of his area involved. He was doing his bit by keeping them informed about the ground reality of the protest at the Delhi borders.
“I, along with some other villagers, have been meeting youngsters and farmers who own tractors. We plan to reach the Delhi borders two days before the proposed tractor rally. However, I do hope that the matter is resolved soon and our brothers and sisters protesting in this biting cold return home. In case we need to go, we are ready. The tractor rally will be historic and apolitical,” he said.
Not only Punjab residents, but farmers and labourers, who live near the Patiala-Samana border in Haryana, are also supporting the agitation.