On Sunday, the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march was suspended as police fired tear gas shells and thwarted yet another attempt by protesting farmers to cross the Punjab-Haryana border.
The ‘jatha’, a group of 101 farmers, was seen wearing face masks and eye gear to shield themselves from tear gas as they started their foot march to the national capital from the Shambhu border on Sunday. However, after covering a little distance, they were stopped by police.
#WATCH | Drone visuals from the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border as farmers continue to protest over their various demands pic.twitter.com/DMWMZAeQOb
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2024
Earlier, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher accused the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government of siding with the Centre to suppress the protest. Several Opposition leaders also attacked the state government over its handling of the situation and highlighted several issues faced by farmers, including fertilizer shortages and the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
Internet shutdown
The Haryana government has shut down internet services across several villages around the Shambhu border to prevent the spreading of misinformation, while the central government is yet to respond to the key demands.
Key meet
On Sunday, a major meeting was held in Rajpura, which was attended by farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher as well as officials like Patiala DIG Mandeep Singh Sidhu.
“A very detailed discussion took place with the farmers… The talks happened in a positive atmosphere, and future rounds of talks will also take place with the farmers,” ANI quoted the Patiala DIG as saying.
Nanak Singh, SSP Patiala, added, “The meeting happened in a very positive atmosphere… Various officials were present at the meeting. These kinds of meetings will continue.”
Protest suspended for the day
Amid high tensions at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border, after police used tear gas, farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo’ march got disrupted, while Pandher announced the withdrawal of the ‘jatha’.
“Today we have decided to withdraw the ‘jatha.‘ The agitation will continue… One farmer has been admitted to PGI and is in serious condition, and 8-9 farmers are injured, so we have withdrawn the ‘jatha.’ After the meeting, we will tell you about the future program,” Pandher had said.
Among those injured included Resham Singh, Dilbagh Singh, Mehr Singh, Karnail Singh, Harbhajan Singh, and Kulwinder Singh, according to reports.
In his statement, Pandher also alleged that police forces “first, showered flowers on us, then they fired rubber bullets at us and threw chemicals on us.”
“We used to say that Bhagwant Mann’s government has some sort of alliance with the central government. Today, the way media is being stopped, the CM and Arvind Kejriwal should come forward and explain this. They (AAP) say that they are with farmers and labourers, then why are they stopping the media? Bhagwant Mann government’s face has been exposed,” Pandher said.
Opposition slams Haryana
Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda attacked the BJP-led government in Haryana over its handling of the situation.
“Democracy allows everyone the right to voice their opinion. Stopping farmers from expressing their views is undemocratic,” Hooda said, adding that the government should engage in dialogue to address the issues farmers are facing.
Farmers’ demands
Besides a legal guarantee for MSP, the protesting farmers have been demanding a farm debt waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in electricity tariff as well as withdrawal of police cases against some of the protestors.
