New Delhi:

Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesting farmers at the Haryana-Punjab Shambhu Border. Reportedly, 6 farmers have been injured and are being taken to a local hospital.

A group of 101 farmers resumed their ‘Delhi chalo’ foot march at 12 pm on Saturday, pressing the government to fulfill their long-standing demands, including a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

This is the third time farmers have attempted to march towards the national capital Delhi since December 6. Earlier on December 6 and 8, farmers were stopped by security personnel in Haryana.

Ahead of the foot march today, the Haryana government suspended mobile internet and bulk SMS services in 12 villages of Ambala till December 17 to prevent the spread of misinformation.

The order applies to the following villages – Dangdehri, Lehgarh, Manakpur, Dadiyana, Bari Ghel, Choti Ghel, Lharsa, Kalu Majra, Devi Nagar (Hira Nagar, Naresh Vihar), Saddopur, Sultanpur and Kakru.

On the sidelines, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has been on a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border for 19 days now. The Supreme Court bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan has directed the Centre and Punjab government representatives to meet Mr Dallewal and persuade him to break his fast.

Chandigarh:

A ‘jatha’ of 101 farmers will resume their foot march to Delhi at 12 noon on Saturday from the Shambhu border point to press the Centre for various demands including a legal guarantee for minimum support price.

The Haryana government suspended mobile internet and bulk SMS services in 12 villages in Ambala till December 17.

Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Saturday said the group of farmers will proceed towards Delhi.

It will be the third attempt by the protesting farmers to march towards the national capital since December 6. They had earlier made two attempts — December 6 and December 8 — but were not allowed to proceed by security personnel in Haryana.

A multi-layered barricading has already been done by the Haryana security personnel to prevent farmers from marching towards Delhi.

Meanwhile, mobile internet and bulk SMS services were suspended early Saturday to maintain public peace, according to an order issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Sumita Misra.

The order to suspend mobile internet in Dangdehri, Lehgarh, Manakpur, Dadiyana, Bari Ghel, Choti Ghel, Lharsa, Kalu Majra, Devi Nagar (Hira Nagar, Naresh Vihar), Saddopur, Sultanpur and Kakru villages in Ambala was issued to prevent any disturbance of peace and public order, Misra said.

The Ambala district administration has already clamped a prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) that bans the unlawful assembly of five or more people in the district.

The Ambala police had earlier said the farmer outfits, which are agitating for a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price and other demands, can march to Delhi only after getting permission from the national capital administration.

The farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and KMM have been pressing for various demands, including a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP). They have also been pressing the Centre to initiate talks with them to address their issues.

Meanwhile, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s fast unto death at the Khanauri border point entered the 19th day on Saturday. Doctors have already recommended his hospitalisation, saying because of the prolonged fast, he has turned weak.

However, the protesting farmers have formed a security ring around Dallewal so that the state authorities could not remove him from the protest site.

The Punjab Police had forcibly removed Dallewal from the Khanauri border point on November 26, just hours before he was going to start his fast unto death.

On Friday, SKM leader Rakesh Tikait met Dallewal and also called for unity of farmers’ groups for a “joint fight”.

Dallewal has been on a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border between Punjab and Haryana since November 26 to press the Centre to accept the agitating farmers’ demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops.

Farmers under the banner of SKM (Non-Political) and KMM have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.

Besides a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, the farmers are demanding a debt 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 are also part of their demands.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chandigarh:

Farmer leaders Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal on Sunday gave a call to the farmers across the nation to reach Delhi on March 6 for a protest while they also gave a four-hour ‘rail roko’ countrywide call for March 10 in support of their various demands.

The two farmer leaders asserted that the farmers’ ongoing agitation will be intensified at the existing protest points and will continue till their demands are met by the government.

They were speaking in Bathinda district’s Balloh village, the native village of a farmer who died recently during clashes with the Haryana security personnel in Khanauri.

Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) are spearheading the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march by the farmers to press the government to accept their demands, which includes that the Centre should give a legal guarantee of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the crops.

Both forums decided that while the farmers from Punjab and Haryana will continue to support the ongoing agitation at Shambhu and Khanauri border points, the farmers and farm labourers from other states should reach Delhi on March 6 for a protest in the national capital in support of the farmers’ demands.

“The farmers from far away states, who cannot reach on tractor trolleys, should head to Delhi by trains and by other means of transport. It will also become clear whether the government allows those farmers to enter those farmers who go without tractor trolleys,” Sarwan Pandher said addressing the gathering at Balloh.

“At Shambhu and Khanauri, the agitation will continue like before and will be further intensified. Our agitation will continue till the demands are met,” he added.

Sarwan Pandher said the two forums to spread this agitation countrywide call upon the farmers and labourers across the country that the ‘rail roko’ protest will be held in the country from 12 pm to 4 pm on March 10 to put pressure on the government to meet the farmers’ demands.

Sarwan Pandher said that all Punjab panchayats should pass a resolution in support of the farmers’ demands and from every village a tractor trolley reaches the protest border points.

He said that the Centre had never before used drones in the farmers agitation as the Haryana Police used recently.

The Haryana authorities have barricaded Shambhu and Khanauri, and made it like the Punjab-Haryana international border, he said.

Sarwan Pandher said that the Centre used all tactics to stop their Delhi Chalo march.

“The Centre is trying to build a perception that the current agitation is limited to Punjab and the fight is led by only two forums. But we want to make it clear that more than 200 outfits in the country are part of the two forums,” he said.

Alleging the Centre does not want to resolve the farmers’ issue, Sarwan Pandher also accused the BJP of playing divisive politics to win the elections.

“Farmers and farm labourers are not on their agenda,” Sarwan Pandher claimed.

“But our fight will continue. The perception being created that the agitation may die down when Model Code of Conduct for the polls come into force is not correct. We may have to fight today, tomorrow, but we will continue fight for our rights,” he said.

Sarwan Pandher also reiterated that India should come out of WTO agreement.

Jagjit Dallewal on his part underlined, “We will have to fight till our last breath and we will fight till demands are met.” He said those who claim that agitation is limited to only Punjab, “then why curfew like situation has been imposed on Haryana borders”.

Meanwhile, some resolutions, including FIR against those officials who gave orders to fire rubber bullets and other ‘coercive’ action against the protesting farmers, were also passed on the occasion.

Talking to reporters later, Jagjit Dallewal said, “I want to clarify that our programme of Delhi Chalo stands. We will continue to protest in a peaceful manner.” “We will increase numbers on the borders where we are agitating,” he added.

Replying to a question, Jagjit Dallewal said though the Centre has not invited them for fresh round of talks, but they have never said no to talks whenever the government has invited them.

He said that the sacrifice of Shubhakaran Singh will not go in vain and the struggle will continue until the demands are met.

When asked that Samyukta Kisan Morcha, which spearheaded the 2020-21 farmers’ agitation, has said over 400 farmers’ outfits will participate in the ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ in Delhi on March 14 to press the Centre to accept the farmers’ demands, including a law on the MSP, Sarwan Pandher said that everyone has right to hold protest.

The protesting farmers have been staying put at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana after their “Delhi Chalo” march was stopped by the security forces.

They began their march on February 13 but were stopped by the security forces, which led to clashes at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points on Haryana-Punjab border. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)