Farmers set fire to The effigy of Amandeep Singh Goldy Musafir, MLA for Balluana, AAP

Farmers today burned an effigy of Balluana MLA Amandeep Singh Goldy Musafir of the AAP near the Rajpura barrier on the Punjab-Rajasthan border, after a verbal altercation between the MLA and farmer leaders during a program in Wahabwala village. They chanted anti-MLA and anti-state government chants.

Another video of the event has gained widespread popularity.

The leader of the Kirti Kisan Union, Vinod Bhagsar claimed that crops and fruit plants in the fields and orchards will be impacted since the irrigation department blocked the canals from March 16 to April 15 in order to reline the Sirhind feeder canal. For the last three days, a number of farmer organizations, including the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political), have been holding dharnas next to the Rajpura barrier on the Abohar-Hanumangarh section of the state highway in protest of the closure. They are asking for the closure to be delayed.

He said that yesterday, when the MLA was giving a speech in Wahabwala village, Balluana convener Nirmal Singh of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur), Sona Sandhu of the BKU (Khosa), and Baldev Singh arrived at the location and implored the MLA to delay the canal closure. However, the MLA noted that farmers conduct dharna anywhere they want and claimed that farmer unions were extorting people illegally. The MLA and the farmer leaders got into a fight over this. The events were captured on camera, and the footage became viral as well.

Farmer leaders argued that despite the department’s enforcement of the closure starting yesterday, the MLA was deceiving the public by falsely claiming that the canal system would not be closed. Sukhchain Minor Canal, which supplies more than 12 villages with drinking water and irrigation, has been blocked since January 22, according to BKU officials. They said that on Friday, the MLA made false accusations against the farmers’ organizations when the farmers sought to discuss their issues with him. Farmers were resentful as a result. In light of this, Bhagsar said, the BKU has now chosen to plan demonstrations against the MLA in each of the Balluana constituency’s villages.