KARNAL: The Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) on Feb.25 started a jail bharo agitation here to protest against the registration of a criminal case against 11 farmers, of village Kheri Naru on February 14, for an alleged scuffle with the raiding party of the Haryana State Electricity Board when they went to the village to disconnect the power supply of the farmers.
On the first day, of their agitation a batch of 11 farmers led by Rattan Singh Mann, the president of the district unit of Kisan Union courted arrest at “Shaka” ground. One thousand farmers had assembled there for holding a farmers panchayat.
Addressing the farmers Kehar Singh the president of the state unit of the BKU alleged that the government had failed to provide electricity to the farmers.
In spite of this the farmers were receiving huge electricity bills. Kehar Singh announced that farmers would continue to court arrests till the case against the farmers was withdrawn. and action was taken against the officials who were responsible for dis- connecting the electricity of the entire village on February 14.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 3, 1995
