Scores of farmers refused to budge as they stay put at the borders on Wednesday even as the security men used tear gas shells and water cannons to disperse the crowd.
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Farmer leaders reiterated their willingness to keep the door open for talks with the central government to resolve the issues plaguing them.
“Our people told us that we should explore a solution through talks,” Jagjit Singh Dallewal, president of BKU Ekta (Sidhupur), told reporters at Shambhu border.
A meeting between the farmer leaders and the central ministers will be held in Chandigarh on Thursday.
Chaotic scenes played out along Shambhu border on Wednesday as farmers attempted to resume their ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest, with security personnel firing tear gas shells to disperse them.
Reports claimed that 10 farmers sustained injuries on the Punjab-Haryana border.
Delhi borders bore a fortified look, with security personnel deployed in large numbers and barricades laid out across all possible entry points.
Meanwhile, internet services have been suspended till February 16 in select areas under some police stations of Patiala, Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib districts of Punjab on the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The temporary suspension of internet services came into effect from 6 pm on February 12 and will continue till 11.59 pm on February 16.
Internet services have been hit in Patiala district in areas falling under police stations Shatrana, Samana, Ghanour, Devigarh and Balbhera; in Sangrur district in areas under Khanauri, Moonak, Lehra, Sunam and Chajli police stations limits; and in Fatehgarh Sahib in areas under Fatehgarh Sahib station.
The protesting farmers are seeking MSP (minimum support price) guarantee for 23 crops, waiver of their debts and withdrawal of cases registered against them during the 2020-21 farmers’ agitation.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had on Tuesday allowed the farmers’ protests in the states, pointing out that, as citizens of India, “they have right to move”. While hearing two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) related to the agitation that reached Delhi from the states of Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday, the court also emphasised that the state governments should ensure the safety and convenience of its citizens and take measures to prevent any inconvenience caused to them.
“We have come for MSP of our crops, to demand compensation for our brothers who died in Lakhimpur (Kheri) and loan waiver. Farmers should get pension, we have come for our rights,” Amandeep Kaur, who has come from Punjab’s Khanna district, told media at Shambhu border.
Amid the ongoing protest, Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda said a law guaranteeing Minimum Support Price (MSP) on crops cannot be brought in a hurry without consulting all stakeholders and urged the protesting farmer groups to have a structured discussion with the government on the issue.
He also cautioned the protesting farmers to be “aware and alert” about some elements which could defame their protest for political benefits. The government has also made a ministerial delegation that held two rounds of discussion with the farmers’ groups, including Samyuka Kisan Morcha (non-political), Kisan Mazdoor Morcha in Chandigarh, to resolve their concerns.
The protesting farmers were also seen attempting to break the multi-layered barricades using their tractors and hand weapons. Haryana police had detained several protesting farmers as they marched towards Delhi on Tuesday.
Visuals from the border showed farmers running towards nearby farmland on the sides of the road as police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protestors.
