Bhartiya Kisan Union to Hold Shirtless Protest on September 28

The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) has decided to hold shirtless protests across Haryana on September 28 in honour of Shaheed Bhagat Singh's Birth Anniversary, accusing the state government of ignoring the Shamlat Deh and Jumla Mustarka Malkan land issues.

The decision was made during the union's state body meeting in Kurukshetra's Jat Dharmashala. If the farmers' demand for a change to the Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act was not met, they have warned to escalate the protests.

Gurnam Singh Charuni, the head of BKU (Charuni), said that the government was trying to take thousands of acres of arable land from farmers and give it to corporate houses. Due to this, they have been struggling for over two months to save the land. Memorandums have been delivered to the Chief Minister, and even panchayats have been conducted outside the homes of Haryana ministers, but no action has been taken. Hence now farmers will hold shirtless protests at district levels around the state, burning documents of the Haryana Government's orders as well as the Supreme Court's judgment on the land.

Notably, BKU Charuni has already staged two protests on this matter on August 25 and 26, during which memoranda of demands were handed over in the name of the Haryana chief minister by tehsildars, MLAs, and panchayats (gatherings) outside the residences of the state ministers.

The organizational issues of their farm union were also discussed at Monday's meeting, according to Karam Singh Mathana, the executive president of BKU Charuni in Haryana. He said that the workers will visit villages to raise awareness and "mobilise the farmers against anti-farmer policies," as part of the union's decision to be strengthened.

According to the farmer leader the union has decided to intensify the protest and conduct another meeting to determine the next steps on September 28.