Punjab: Labour Union Workers Protest Outside CM Mann's House, Police Resort To Lathicharge
Punjab Farmers Protest: The workers, who were from Mazdoor Union outfit, were demanding a hike in wages.
Labour union workers staged a massive protest outside the residence of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in Sangrur on Wednesday, with police resorting to lathicharge to disperse them. The workers, who were protesting under the banner of Sanjha Mazdoor Morcha, a joint front of eight labour unions, have demanded a hike in wages.
Bhagwant Mann was not at his residence as the AAP leader is campaigning for the Gujarat Assembly election that begin on December 1.
Visuals showed the labourers shouting slogans and showing red flags as Sangrur police officials lathi-charged them. Manpreet Singh, the superintendent of police (SP) in charge of Sangrur, can be seen in video leading the baton charge against the demonstrators.
Hundreds of workers gathered near Patiala-Bathinda road in Sangrur and marched towards the chief minister's rented accommodation. The protesters clashed with police, who used batons to bring the situation under control.
The workers have demanded an increase in minimum daily wage to Rs 700 under the MNREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) and distribution of five-marla plots to Dalits and SCs, reports said.
SSP Sangrur, speaking to reporters, denied that police lathicharged the protesters. "No lathicharge was done, and the protest is going on in a peaceful manner. An aggressive faction of protestors indulged in a scuffle, which was later controlled by the police. We have taken cognizance of their demands," ANI quoted the SSP as saying.
President of the Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Committee Mukesh Malaud told HT, "Earlier the chief minister had given a meeting to us but later he refused to meet us. Now, we are forced to protest to raise our demands."
The Sanjha Mazdoor Morcha ended its protest after the district administration assured its representatives of a meeting with the chief minister on December 21, PTI reported.
The labourers had held a 19-day protest in October and called it off only after the government accepted their demands in writing.
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