COURTESY HT NOV 8

Punjab Cong MPs meet Shah, say bring farmers to the table
Stress the need to ensure normalcy in the state, saying anti-national elements may try to exploit situation; also seek resumption of train services

Members of various farmer unions during a protest against the Central govt’s agriculture laws in Bathinda on Saturday. SANJEEV KUMAR/HT

JASBIR SINGH GILL, Congress Lok Sabha MP
HT Correspondent

letterschd@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI : A Congress delegation of Lok Sabha MPs from Punjab on Saturday met Union home minister Amit Shah and apprised him of the situation in the state in the wake of ongoing agitation by farmers against the three new agriculture laws enacted by the Centre.

Railway minister Piyush Goyal also attended the meeting.

The Congress leaders urged the home minister to initiate a dialogue with the agitating farmers to ensure normalcy in the state, cautioning that anti-national elements could otherwise try to exploit the situation in the state bordering Pakistan.

The delegation comprising Preneet Kaur, Santokh Singh Chaudhary, Manish Tewari, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Amar Singh, Jasbir Singh Gill and Mohammad Sadique also sought resumption of train services in the state.

Train services in Punjab have remained suspended since September 24 when farmer groups organised protests on tracks and railway station premises against the agriculture laws.

This has led to a shortage of essential supplies, including coal and fertilisers, in the state.

The MPs informed the home minister about the prevailing situation in Punjab and the problems arising due to the suspension of train services.

The Congress MPs expressed the hope that the train services on the affected routes will resume plying soon.

The Punjab government will now hold discussions with the railway ministry, Jasbir Singh Gill told reporters after the meeting.

Now, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and the chief secretary will hold talks with the railway minister and hopefully issues will be resolved, he added.

Aujla said the delegation briefed Shah about the entire situation and they got the assurance that the issue will be resolved soon.

On Friday, the party MPs had met Goyal who told them that train services would resume once the state government gives assurances on safety and security of the railway properties and personnel and also gets the tracks cleared.