Protesting Farmers Face 'Midnight Raids' After Bhagwant Mann 'Walks Out' Of Talks Abruptly, Akali Dal Calls Him 'Arrogant CM'

Prior to the week-long demonstrations scheduled by the Punjab division of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), inclusive of a 'Chandigarh Chalo' march on Wednesday (4 March), numerous union leaders were reportedly taken into custody by the police between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

The 'midnight raids' took place just hours after an abrupt end to a meeting between the leaders of SKM and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Indian Express reported. The SKM is an alliance of 37 farmers' unions. The farmers' organisation alleges that Mann "walked out" of the meeting without any provocation.

“On Monday evening, first of all, the CM walked out of the meeting with SKM leaders and later on the police started raiding the houses of the leaders. The police came to my house in Ferozepur at 3 am and took me under preventive arrest,” state general secretary of Krantikari Kisan Union Gurmeet Singh Mehma, was seen alleging in a viral video.

In addition to Mehma, the leaders of the Krantikari Kisan Union, Jangveer Singh Chauhan, Manjeet Raj, and Surjeet Singh were also taken into custody in Tanda, Barnala, and Moga respectively.

The authorities reportedly visited the residence of Joginder Singh Ugrahan, the head of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Ugrahan, but were unable to find him. In addition, Mahesh Chander Sharma, the chief secretary of BKU Rajewal, and Harinder Singh Lakhowal, the leader of BKU Lakhowal, were detained from their homes in Ludhiana and Mohali respectively.

“The police are raiding the houses of SKM leaders. On Monday evening, Punjab CM abruptly walked out of the meeting with farmer leaders… none of our demands related to the state or the Centre have been implemented. Instead of considering our demands, the police are being sent to our houses to arrest us,” Lakhowal was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

Similarly, another BKU Ugrahan leader Gulab Singh alleged that the police arrived at his house in Bathinda at 4 am on Tuesday but when farmers gathered at the spot, they returned. “When we don’t open the doors, they are climbing the walls to enter our houses or forcing us to open the doors,” he alleged.

Condemning the developments, former Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal called Mann an "arrogant CM" and accused him of raiding the homes of farmer leaders.

"The AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) government is choking democracy by carrying out such disgraceful actions,” Badal said in Punjabi on X and posted videos of the police raiding the houses of farmer leaders.

“Instead of apologising for the mistreatment of farmer leaders last evening, Bhagwant Mann has started arresting them. @BhagwantMann, power is not eternal—Punjab’s proud people will soon teach you a lesson,” the post added.

The leaders of SKM declared an urgent meeting in Ludhiana on Tuesday to strategise for the 'Chandigarh Chalo' march. IE sources indicated that the farmers have a list of 18 demands, with approximately 12 points directly associated with state-related issues.

The farmers, who last staged a week-long dharna in Chandigarh in September of the previous year, are still waiting for a location to be assigned for their protest in the city.