Harsimrat Kaur, SAD Chief Sukhbir Badal Arrested In Chandigarh Over Protests Against Farm Laws

Harsimrat Kaur and Sukhbir Badal were leading Kisan March to protest against the farm laws and were briefly detained along with other party workers.

Image: @HarsimratBadal_

New Delhi: Amid widespread protests of farmers across the country against the new Farm Laws, Former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal were arrested on Thursday evening in Chandigarh. Also Read|Hathras Woman Not Raped, Facts Wrongly Presented For Disturbing Social Harmony: UP Police Both the leaders took part in the protests with farmers against the new Farm Laws, a matter over which her party the Shiromani Akali Dal decided to pull out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Sukhbir, who is also an MP from Ferozpur, and several other party workers were detained from near the Mullapur barrier in Chandigarh. Police also resorted to baton charge and used water cannons to disperse the SAD workers during a Kisan March against the farm legislations.

Putting out a tweet about her arrest, Harsimrat said "they won't be able to silence us."

ਕਿਸਾਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਹੱਕਾਂ ਦੀ ਰਾਖੀ ਲਈ ਆਵਾਜ਼ ਚੁੱਕਣ ਬਦਲੇ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਗ੍ਰਿਫ਼ਤਾਰ ਕੀਤਾ ਜਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ, ਪਰ ਅਸੀਂ ਸੱਚਾਈ ਦੀ ਪੈਰਵੀ ਕਰ ਰਹੇ ਹਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਇਸ ਜ਼ੋਰ ਜ਼ਬਰ ਨਾਲ ਸਾਡੀ ਸੱਚਾਈ ਦੀ ਆਵਾਜ਼ ਦਬਾਈ ਨਹੀਂ ਜਾ ਸਕੇਗੀ।

Arrested for raising farmers' voice, but they won't be able to silence us.#IkkoNaaraKisanPyaara pic.twitter.com/zzFtt6TqqT — Harsimrat Kaur Badal (@HarsimratBadal_) October 1, 2020

"We are being arrested for speaking out for the rights of farmers, but we are pursuing the truth and our force will not be silenced by this force," she tweeted. She was released at 11:30 pm on Thursday. Sukhbir Singh Badal led a march from Amritsar while Harsimrat Kaur Badal began the protests from Bathinda. A third procession, led by Akali Dal leaders Chandumajra and Cheema began from Anandpur Sahib, according to reports. The three demonstrations had planned to come together at Chandigarh before the submission of the memorandum.

Chandigarh: Kisan March, led by Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal, continues; visuals from near Mullapur barrier. #FarmBills pic.twitter.com/KpZrAXehXV

— ANI (@ANI) October 1, 2020

Addressing the media in Amritsar, Sukhbir said his party wanted a rollback of the farm bills and that the farming community was against the black laws. On September 17, Harsimrat Kaur Badal had quit the Union Cabinet after the SAD chief had strongly opposed the bills in the Lok Sabha, claiming the legislation will "destroy" the agriculture sector in Punjab. Farmers fear the laws will end the price support system or MSP and drive the entry of private players who, they say, will put small and marginal farmers at risk.