After their first attempt to march to Delhi ended in clashes with police on Tuesday, the protesting farmers will restart the march on Wednesday from the Shambhu border. The farmers from Punjab clashed with Haryana Police at two border points between the states on Tuesday in their bid to breach the barricades.
However, authorities continued to put up roadblocks with more concrete slabs erected at the Tikri border.
The farmers, under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, are agitating seeking a law on minimum support price for crops and loan waivers. Other demands include implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's formula, full debt waiver for farmers, pension for farmers and labourers and withdrawal of cases against farmers during the 2020-21 protest.
The march began around 10 am on Tuesday from Punjab's Fatehgarh Sahib, about 40 km from the Haryana border as farmers, including women, packed themselves in tractor-trolleys. The agitators were stopped at the border by the Haryana Police, following which the clashes broke out. Over 60 agitators were hurt after police used tear gas and water cannons against the protesters at the border in the state's Jind district too.
Twenty-four police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police, were also injured as protesters hurled stones at them.
Though the Centre, which held a last-minute meeting with the farmers on Monday night, agreed to a few of their demands, it refused to arrive at a consensus on MSP. In an interview with PTI, Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, however, said a law guaranteeing MSP cannot be brought in a hurry without consulting all stakeholders. He urged farmer groups to have a structured discussion with the government on the issue.
#WATCH | Delhi: More concrete is being poured between the concrete slabs at the Tikri Border to make the border stronger on day 2 of the farmers' march towards the National Capital pic.twitter.com/kyhtGlD8iv
— ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2024
To this, Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said all the farmers were asking was a legal guarantee. " There are reports in the media that the MSP guaranteeing law can not be formed so soon. All, we are saying is to give us a legal guarantee on that (MSP) so that we don't sell crops below that MSP. So, there is no question of a committee. We would want the PM to step forward and speak with the farmers," he told ANI.
Meanwhile, the strict vigil continues at the borders to stop the farmers' march from entering Delhi at the Singhu and Tikri borders. Both borders were shut while the Red Fort complex was closed temporarily. Multi-layer barricades, concrete blocks, iron nails and walls of containers have been placed at the Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri borders, with the deployment of a large number of security personnel in anti-riot gear.
