Farmer from Punjab, Haryana, and other parts of North India continued their protests on Sunday as their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march, called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, entered Day 6. The agitating farmers have sought an ordinance on giving a legal guarantee to Minimum Support Price (MSP), one of their key demands, ahead of their fourth round of discussions with the Centre on Sunday.
Union Ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal, and Nityanand Rai will meet with farmer leaders in Chandigarh for the fourth round of discussions aimed at resolving the ongoing farmers’ protest. The two sides met earlier on February 8, 12 and 15 but those talks remained inconclusive.
Farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on February 13 morning began their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march to press for their demands, amid heavy barricading at Haryana-Punjab border and entry points into the National Capital. However, most of them were stopped by security personnel at Shambhu and Khanauri points on Punjab’s border with Haryana. The protesters have stayed put at the two border points since then.
Over 200 farmers’ unions, including the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, are taking part in the march to press the Centre to accept their demands.
Besides a legal guarantee of MSP, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.
Here are the latest developments in the ongoing farmers’ protests
- Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Saturday demanded that the Centre should bring an ordinance on giving a legal guarantee to MSP, a key demand of farmers currently camping at the Shambhu and the Khanauri points of the Punjab-Haryana border.
- The Haryana government on Saturday extended the ban on mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts by two more days till February 19 in the wake of the farmers’ agitation. The affected districts are Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa. The government had earlier extended the suspension of mobile internet on February 13 and 15.
- Strict action will be taken against those who disturb law and order, said Haryana Police chief Shatrujeet Kapur after visiting the Data Singhwala-Khanauri border point where farmers have been staying put since their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march was stopped by security personnel. During his visit to the Data Singhwala-Khanauri border point, Kapur held a meeting with police officers and other officials to take stock of the situation and gave them necessary directions.
- Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Saturday announced that farmers will stage dharnas in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand on February 21 to press their demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP. Speaking to reporters after attending a panchayat in Sisauli here, Tikait said a resolution was passed during the meeting asking the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) to launch a tractor march to Delhi in the last week of February if the government does not accept farmers’ demands.
- The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) took out a tractor march in Haryana while BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) held dharnas outside the residences of three senior BJP leaders in support of farmers protesting at the borders of Punjab over their various demands.
- Around 100 farmers from different farmers associations were arrested at Thanjavur Railway station on Saturday when they tried to stage a ‘rail roko’ protest in front of the Cholan Express. The group was protesting the police action against the farmers’ agitation in New Delhi.
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