Farm groups protest police action on apprentice linemen

Bathinda: Farmer unions, along with employee and unemployed groups, staged protests across Punjab on Saturday against the police action on members of the apprenticeship linemen union in Patiala.Protesters burnt effigies of the state govt in several villages across the Malwa region and warned the AAP-led regime against "suppressing" agitations, saying such measures could trigger public backlash in the run-up to the assembly polls.The protests follow a lathicharge on Friday, when police stopped agitating linemen from locking the gates of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) headquarters in Patiala. The ITI-trained apprentices have been demanding regular jobs for long.BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan said protests "cannot be crushed through force", asserting that those braving extreme heat for livelihoods would not be deterred by baton charge. He said farmer unions would fully back the apprentices' agitation and called for coordinated protests across villages.Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) convener Jagjit Singh Dallewal termed the police action as exposing the "true face" of a govt elected on the plank of change, adding that farmers would not tolerate such treatment of unemployed youth.BKU (Ekta Dakaunda) president Manjit Singh Dhaner alleged the police acted "inhumanly", saying there are established protocols to disperse protesters.Teacher bodies and unemployed unions, including the Democratic Teachers Front and Berojgar Sanjha Morcha, also condemned the action and supported the demand for recruitment of assistant linemen in PSPCL.Punjab power minister Tarunpreet Singh Sondh did not respond to calls and text messages. Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who was heading meetings with employees and unemployed unions, was not reachable and AAP spokesperson Neel Garg refused to comment.