Farmer Protest in Delhi : Peasant march to New Delhi challenges India government’s farm policy
New Delhi, INDIA (EFE/DT)- Thousands of Indian farmers were set to resume their march to New Delhi on Wednesday after failed talks with the government, while the authorities deployed strong security measures to prevent their entry into the capital.
The protest was scheduled to begin at 11am local time from the neighboring states of Haryana and Punjab, where thousands have remained camped since last week awaiting the results of negotiations between the authorities and agricultural unions for legal guarantees for farm produce.
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“We are trying to carry out our protest peacefully. If the Center feels that there are issues in accepting our demands, we would like to appeal to the Prime Minister that protecting the Constitution is his duty,” one of the leaders of the farmers’ movement, Sarwan Singh Pandher, told the media early Wednesday.
Against the resumption of this mass procession, the authorities have again erected barricades and increased security at entry points to the capital to prevent the tractors and farmers’ trucks from entering.
“Our intention is not to create any chaos… This is not right that such huge barricades are placed to stop us. We want to go to Delhi peacefully. The government should remove the barricades and let us come in,” said another farmers’ leader, Jagjit Singh Dallewal.
The decision to resume the protest comes after talks between the government and the farmers’ leaders failed.
On Sunday, the government proposed to buy five products, including three pulses, maize, and cotton, from the farmers at a minimum support price (MSP), a government policy created to protect the price of crops in the face of market fluctuations, for the next five years.
However, the farmers have rejected the proposal as it does not fulfill their main demand for a legal guarantee of procurement of 23 crops at MSP.
The other demands include pensions for farmers, debt waivers, and withdrawal of police cases filed against farmers during the 2021 protests.
Last week, thousands of farmers on hundreds of tractors began a massive march towards New Delhi from the neighboring states of Haryana and Punjab, the latter being known as the ‘breadbasket of India,’ to press home their demands.
The implementation of MSP was one of the main demands during protests between 2020 and 2021, when thousands of farmers camped for almost 15 months outside Delhi, opposing an agrarian reform initiated by the Indian government.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to bow to pressure and repeal a newly enacted law, which farmers said gave too much power to big companies by deregulating the market.
Two years on, farmers’ associations say the government has not met all their demands.
Yesterday, a 21-year-old farmer named Shubhkaran Singh passed away on Wednesday following protests near the Khanauri border, reigniting their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march due to disagreements with the Centre’s proposals regarding a five-year plan for minimum support price (MSP).
Despite four rounds of talks between farmer leaders and three Union ministers on February 8, 12, 16, and 18, the dialogue remained inconclusive as farmer leaders rejected the government’s proposal to break the deadlock.
According to H S Rekhi, the medical superintendent at Patiala-based Rajindra Hospital, the deceased had an injury to his head.
On Wednesday, several farmers sustained injuries as the Haryana Police fired tear gas shells to prevent attempts to breach barricades at Shambhu and Khanauri.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi expressed their condolences over the death of Shubhkaran Singh. Gandhi remarked that history would undoubtedly demand accountability for the farmers’ deaths from the BJP.
In the meantime, farmer leaders have decided to suspend the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march for two days following Shubkaran’s demise. The protest is scheduled to resume on Friday (23 February).