Farmers’ protest: ‘Delhi chalo’ march on Friday; farmers to walk from 9 am to 5 pm

Protesting farmers will resume their march towards Delhi on December 6 to continue to press for their demands over a host of issues. Security has been tightened near the border, and the Supreme Court has asked the farmers to not obstruct highways and inconvenience the people. Moreover, the Punjab Police met farmer leaders on Thursday, a day before they are set to march towards Delhi. 

Farmer leader from Punjab Sarwan Singh Pandher had, on Sunday, confirmed that a group of farmers would march to Delhi. Farmers under the aegis of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since February 13, when they were stopped by security forces.

The first "jatha" or group of farmers will be led by Satnam Singh Pannu, Surinder Singh Chautala, Surjit Singh Phul and Baljinder Singh, said Pandher, who added that essential items will be carried towards Delhi peacefully. 

The farmers will walk from 9am to 5pm every day and spend the nights on the road. The first group of farmers will stop at the Jaggi city centre in Ambala, the Mohra grain market, Khanpur Jattan and Pipli in Haryana.

Pandher has said that the government has stopped holding talks with them. There has been no talks since February 18, he said. "Contract farming is not acceptable to us. We are demanding a legal guarantee on the MSP (minimum support price) for crops," he said. The farmers are also demanding farm loan waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in the 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.

Meanwhile, farmer bodies in Kerala, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu will take out marches towards their respective state assemblies on December 6.

SUPREME COURT’S DIRECTIVE

The Supreme Court asked Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal to persuade the protesting farmers to not obstruct highways and cause inconvenience to people. "In a democratic setup, you can engage in peaceful protests but do not cause inconvenience to people. You all know that the Khanauri border is a lifeline for Punjab. We are not commenting on whether the protest is right or wrong," a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan told advocate Guninder Kaur Gill, appearing on behalf of Dallewal. 

Hours before beginning his fast-unto-death on November 26, Dallewal was allegedly forcibly removed from the Khanauri border and taken to a hospital in Ludhiana.

PUNJAB POLICE MEETS FARMERS

Punjab Police met the protesting farmers at the Shambhu border point on Thursday. The farmers assured the police that they will be peaceful and will not take tractor-trolleys in the march. 

The Ambala administration asked the farmers on Wednesday to reconsider their march and to contemplate any action only after receiving permission from Delhi Police.

The Haryana government has imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in Ambala.