The farmers resumed their 'Delhi Chalo' protest march on Wednesday amid the Haryana police raising alarm over the use of excavators and heavy machinery to remove the barriers put up at the borders.
The march resumed after the farmers rejected the BJP-led Centre's proposal for procuring pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP by government agencies for five years.
Ahead of the march, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said the march would be peaceful. "We've decided that no farmer and youth will march forward. Only the leaders will march ahead. We will go peacefully," Pandher said, adding that all this can be ended if the government make a law on MSP.
Pandher's response comes as the Union Home Ministry conveyed its strong objections to the Punjab government regarding the situation at the borders. The Centre has estimated that nearly 14,000 people have gathered along the Punjab-Haryana border with 1,200 tractor-trolleys, 300 cars, and 10 mini-buses.
To this, Pandher said: "We are not going to attack our jawans. They are ours. We again request the government to introduce the MSP law and this protest will be finished."
#WATCH | On the 'Delhi Chalo' march today, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher says, "We've decided that no farmer, youth will march forward. Leaders will march ahead. We will go peacefully... All this can be ended if they (central govt) make a law on MSP..." pic.twitter.com/PFmVaKkY60
— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2024
On Wednesday, the farmers at the Shambhu border were seen holding iron shields, distributing salt, and wearing gas masks to protect themselves. However, when the march began, the Haryana security personnel fired tear gas shells at protesters marching towards the multi-layered barricades at the Shambhu border point, forcing them to flee.
Meanwhile, Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda said the government is ready to hold a fifth round of talks with the farmers. "In the 5th round of meetings, we are ready to talk with farmers and discuss issues like MSP, stubble, FIR, and crop diversification. I appeal to them to maintain peace and we should find a solution through dialogue," Munda was quoted by ANI.
He said the farmers are yet to respond to the talks announcement. "No information has come yet (from the farmers' side). We appeal that we should move forward with talks and present our stand. The government also wants to move forward and find a solution," he said.
The BJP too said the government remains committed to the farmers. "The government has so much for farmers. Farmers' progress is our priority and will continue to remain so," Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters. The farmers' groups had rejected the government's previous proposal for five-year contracts and guaranteed support prices for produce such as corn, cotton and pulses.
Meanwhile, the Haryana Police on Wednesday asked JCB owners to withdraw their machines from the protest site, or else they will be held liable for action.
According to police, these excavators might cause harm to security personnel deployed at the two border points of Punjab and Haryana if protesting farmers used them. "For owners and operators of Poclains, JCBs: Please do not provide your equipment to the protestors and withdraw them from the protest site if already done, as they may be used to cause harm to security forces. It is a non-bailable offence and you may be held criminally liable," said police in a post on X.
