A massive protest in progress outside the Sangrur home of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who is on the campaign trail in Gujarat ahead of assembly elections in the western state. The agricultural labour and trade unions holding the protest are engaged in clash with the police, who are using batons to bring the crowd under control.
Dramatic visuals from the site showed the flag-waving, slogan-shouting protesters being beaten by the police.
The protesters are demanding that the state government hike their minimum daily wage to Rs 700 under the MNREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) and implement the 5 marla land scheme.
The protest, which was announced earlier, had started in the morning. The protesters, who had gathered at the Patiala Bypass, had started marching towards the Chief Minister’s house when they were stopped by the police.
The farmers, who held a 19-day protest earlier, agreed to call it off in October after the government accepted their demands in writing.
Mr Mann is in Gujarat, campaigning for the assembly elections that begin on December 1. AAP has claimed that the protests are being backed by the BJP.
