A large contingent of ‘farmers’ has gathered at the Shambhu border, from where they propose to march towards Delhi later on Friday (6th December). Drone visuals from the site showed large groups of farmers converging at the border.
At the Shambhu border, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said there would be a group of 100 farmers marching towards Delhi peacefully and have no intention of breaking the barricades present.
Speaking to ANI, Pandher said “The central and state governments had told the Supreme Court that they had a problem with farmers moving towards Delhi on tractors. A group of 100 farmers will move towards Delhi peacefully. We have no intention of breaking the barricades. We hope that the government allows us to move towards Delhi and protest peacefully. The doors for talk are open from the farmers’ side. We have been saying that if the government wants to talk, then they should show us the letter from the central government or the CM’s office of Haryana or Punjab.”
#WATCH | At the Shambhu border, Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher says, "The central and state governments told the Supreme Court that they have a problem with farmers moving towards Delhi on tractors… A group of 100 farmers will move towards Delhi peacefully. We have no… pic.twitter.com/gbe8c9oXqo
— ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2024
A protestor complained that the promises made to them were not fulfilled and questioned on why the government was stopping them at the borders. “We are here on a protest and will be going till Delhi.. the government can do anything they want. None of the promises made to us are being fulfilled.. we are Indians too, and most importantly farmers. Why are they stopping us at the borders. Why cant they let us protest peacefully..? The BJP government, the central government are not listening to us…,” questioned the protestor. Sukhwinder Kaur, another protestor said that the protest would continue and taking into consideration the request made by the Haryana government, they decided to carry the protest on foot.
“We took in the considerations of the Haryana government and decided to protest on foot. Despite that, they have been taking action against us and have stuck notices in Punjab. We have nothing except for our flags and our bags. When we reach Delhi, if we are asked to take permission from the government, we will do that. We will stick to our plan and we will see what the government will do with us,” Kaur said speaking to ANI.
Talking about the demands of the farmers, she stated that the main demand was that of the Minimum Support Price. (MSP) “We have 12 demands and our main demand is that of the MSP. The Punjab government said they would do it but even after waiting for one month, they didn’t and we protested against it. We are ready to talk to them but they have not asked us anything..We are not begging, we are just asking for something for what we do. Where are we at fault?” she added.
The protest, led by the Bhartiya Kisan Parishad (BKP), in collaboration with other farmer organisations, seeks compensation and benefits linked to agricultural reforms, including a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP).
Meanwhile, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha has accused the Uttar Pradesh police of trespassing into farmer leaders’ homes to detain them under the guise of ‘house arrest’ without regard for any provisions of the CrPC or the BNSS. The SKM demanded an apology from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
A large security force has been posted on the Haryana side of the border. The Ambala district administration has issued an order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to prohibit any unlawful gathering of five or more people in the area. According to the deputy commissioner’s directive, all foot, automobile, and other processions are prohibited until further notice. Additionally, Ambala officials have ordered the closure of all government and private schools in the area.
Reacting to the farmers’ march, Haryana Minister Anil Vij said, “Have they taken the permission? How can they be allowed to go (to Delhi) without permission? If they get permission, they will be allowed…you are going there for a programme if you have to sit there, you need to get permission.”
Notably, bringing a law legalising MSP would involve a tremendous fiscal burden on the government exchequer, there would be a risk of undervaluation of crops with low yields, an increase in food inflation, market distortionary and economically unsustainable practices, and India would face opposition in the WTO as well as trade disputes with importing countries.
(With inputs from ANI)
