Preity Zinta, co-owner of Kings XI Punjab

Chandigarh, March 13: Farmer associations in Punjab are planning to converge on the Mohali cricket stadium next week in a bid to disrupt IPL matches to protest the state government’s decision to roll back free power.

“Thousands of farmers from all across the state will gather in Chandigarh next week to protest the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government’s decision to roll back free power. We will decide on the mode of protest then. Disrupting IPL matches can well be one of the ways to register our protest,” said Bhupinder Singh Mann, a former Rajya Sabha member and president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union.

The Kings XI Punjab took on the Delhi Daredevils at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali today. The home team will be playing four more matches in Mohali. They will be held on March 24, March 27, April 2 and April 9.

Fearing trouble, Mohali police have increased security around the stadium. Parking lots will be a kilometre from the match venue.

The protest call came after the state government’s decision to charge over 10 lakh farmers for power with retrospective effect from January, following recommendations of a two-member resource-mobilising committee comprising deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and local bodies minister Manoranjan Kalia.

Farmers in Punjab use 5 BHP to 20 BHP tubewells to draw water from the ground for irrigation.

The cabinet has cleared the committee’s recommendation of charging Rs 50 per BHP.

“We have to draw the attention of the government towards the injustice caused to us by rolling back free power. Unless we don’t do something drastic (like disrupting IPL matches) our grievances and difficulties will never be heard,” a farmer in Sohana, on the outskirts of Mohali, said.

Mann said the Shiromani Akali Dal had promised before the elections that the party would not roll back free power to farmers. “They have to live up to the promises made during the 2007 elections or face our wrath,” Mann added.

He said Punjab farmers supplied food grains to the entire country. “With diesel and fertiliser prices hitting the sky and heavy power bills now on the anvil, we have no other option but to protest,” Mann said.

Kings XI ad row

King’s XI Punjab on Saturday apologised for a newspaper advertisement that mentioned iconic freedom fighters such as Bhagat Singh after a rights activist lodged a police complaint against the franchise.

The ad read: “The stadium was silent. Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru had just walked into the stands. Are you the wildest Kings XI fan in the stadium? Then you are FAN OF THE MATCH….”

Kings XI, in a statement attributed to co-promoter Preity Zinta, said: “We have been made to understand that our recent advertisement… have hurt certain segments of the community. We apologise to the people if their sentiments have been hurt and the advertisement will be recalled with immediate effect.”

Arvind Thakur, who had lodged the police complaint, refused to accept the apology and threatened to move court. Jagmohan Singh, a nephew of Bhagat Singh, said the ad was “anti-national”. The police said they were investigating the complaint.