The recently elected Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Friday in a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him to repeal the Centre’s farm laws.
Calling his meeting with Modi a very ‘positive one’, Channi said he made three demands before the Prime Minister. The first was to start the procurement of paddy earlier than scheduled (October 10) in the state. Second was to repeal the farm laws, and also to bring an end to the farmers’ issue in the state, by talking to the protesting farmers.
Farmers from different parts of the country, especially Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting at Delhi borders since November last year, demanding the repeal of the three contentious farm laws that they fear would do away with the Minimum Support Price system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.
The Punjab Chief Minister’s third and last demand was the immediate opening of the Kartarpur Corridor. He asked the PM to talk to Pakistan on the issue. The movement of pilgrims to Pakistan through the Kartarpur corridor has been suspended since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the neighbouring country banned all travel from India citing the surge in cases here in April this year, the Lok Sabha was informed in August.
The Punjab Chief Minister’s third and last demand was the immediate opening of the Kartarpur Corridor. He asked the PM to talk to Pakistan on the issue. The movement of pilgrims to Pakistan through the Kartarpur corridor has been suspended since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the neighbouring country banned all travel from India citing the surge in cases here in April this year, the Lok Sabha was informed in August.
Under the Kartarpur corridor agreement with Pakistan, Indian pilgrims of all faiths are allowed to undertake round-the-year visa-free travel through the Kartarpur corridor to Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib, one of the most revered shrines of Sikhs, in Pakistan.
‘PM Listened Patiently on Farmers’ Issue’
“I asked the PM to start dialogue with farmers. Punjab has always fought for the country, so this issue should be resolved immediately," Channi said after the meeting in Delhi. The Punjab CM said Modi listened to the issue patiently and agreed that he also wanted a solution to the ongoing issue.
On September 27, normal life was hit as farmers blocked highways, roads and squatted on railway tracks at many places in Punjab and Haryana, and other states, on Monday in view of a “Bharat Bandh" called by farm unions.
Channi’s meeting with the PM comes after his recent induction in place of Capt Amarinder Singh, who resigned after months of bitter party infighting with Navjot Singh Sidhu.
However, Sidhu ‘resigned’ from his post on Monday, leading to political turmoil in Punjab which the Congress worked tooth and nail to placate. Sidhu then met Channi for talks on Thursday, and it was decided he would remain the Punjab Congress Committee chief.
Sidhu had raised questions over the recent appointments of the director-general of police, the advocate general and some “tainted" leaders in the Channi cabinet.