Ahead of the farmers’ *panchayat* (gathering) organized by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Sidhupur) in Faridkot on Wednesday, the police placed the organization’s state president, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, under house arrest. Reports indicate that several other office-bearers of the organization in Faridkot and neighboring districts have also been confined to their homes.
Protesting the police action, Jagjit Singh Dallewal stated that the Punjab government is attempting to crush the farmers’ democratic movement. He asserted that such actions cannot silence the farmers’ voices and that they will continue their struggle for their demands at any cost. He added that if necessary, they would not hesitate to resort to measures ranging from hunger strikes to indefinite fasts.
**Protests ongoing in 12 districts for five months**
For nearly five months, farmers have been staging sit-in protests outside Land Mortgage Banks in 12 districts of Punjab, including Faridkot. Their primary demand is the implementation of an OTS (One Time Settlement) scheme in Land Mortgage Banks, similar to the one available in commercial banks. Additionally, they are demanding the return of blank cheques collected from farmers and compensation for the theft of farmers’ belongings during the agitation at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders.
**Action taken prior to the August 29 protest as well**
Police had previously detained and jailed several farmers ahead of a state-level protest proposed for August 29 in Faridkot regarding these demands. In response, the organization had launched a ‘Jail Bharo’ (fill the jails) agitation.
It was in this sequence of events that the farmers’ *panchayat* was scheduled to be held in Faridkot on Wednesday, September 9. The gathering was intended to formulate the next strategy for the struggle regarding the farmers’ demands. Tensions between the farmers’ organization and the government are likely to escalate following this pre-emptive police action.
