Demanding that the Prevention of Damage to the Public and Private Property Act, 2014, be repealed, hundreds of farmers and farm labourers protested against the SAD-BJP government outside the district magistrate’s office on Friday.
Terming it as an ‘anti-people’ and ‘black’ law, Sukhdev Kokri, the general secretary of the BKU (Ekta), said the state government had imposed an undeclared emergency in the state to curb the voice of democratic forces and stop them from staging peaceful protests.
“The poor farmers and deprived sections of the society are fighting for their rights. Therefore, bringing in such black laws is against the spirit of the provisions laid down under Article-19 of the Indian Constitution,” he said.
The new law says if protesters during strike, road and rail blockades damage public/private property, they would be imprisoned. It has evoked widespread criticism from all trade unions and opposition parties.
Nirbhai Singh Dhudike, president of Kirti Kisan Union, said, “The right to freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution.”
Sangrur: Hundreds of farmers, labourers, employees and students today staged a dharna outside the district administrative complex, demanding that the Prevention of Damage to Public and Private Property Act be repealed.
Fazilka: Farmers and farm labourers staged a dharna out the DC’s officer against the Act today.
