Farmers’ protest 2024 updates | Union Ministers to hold discussions with farmer representatives on February 15

The sealing of Delhi’s borders with neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in view of farmers’ march hasn’t impacted the supply of fresh vegetables, milk, and poultry produce in the city for now but may cause a hike in their prices if the agitation continues, vendors said on Wednesday.

Longer routes being taken by the truckers due to the heavy security at the three border points — Singhu, Tikri, and Ghazipur, abutting Haryana and Uttar Pradesh — has led to delay in supplies reaching the city, as well as exports to other cities.

- PTI

The Jharkhand Congress and the Left parties on Wednesday decided to extend support to the nationwide Grameen Bandh on February 16.

State Congress president Rajesh Thakur directed all district presidents and officials of the party to support the bandh on Friday. Jharkhand unit of the Communist Party of India (CPI) also appealed to the people to make the ‘Grameen Bandh’ on February 16, a success.

Samyukt Kisan Morcha has called for the nationwide rural bandh and strike along with the central trade unions.

- PTI

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday asked why the Centre cannot give farmers a legal guarantee on minimum support price when it is presenting Bharat Ratna to M S Swaminathan and Chaudhary Charan Singh, two personalities who championed the cause of agriculture.

Speaking to reporters during his visit to this district for a function, Yadav hit out at the BJP-led Centre for not fulfilling the demands of the farmers protesting in Punjab and Haryana to press their demands.

The former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh said the BJP government at the Centre has promised to make India a five-trillion economy, but this will happen only when the farmers of the country are happy.

- PTI

A meeting between Union Ministers and farmer representatives to held on February 15 in Chandigarh, says Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, Coordinator Sarwan Singh Pandher.

- Vikas Vasudeva

Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury condemned the government action against farmers at the Shambhu border near Haryana’s Ambala and expressed solidarity with the Grameen Bandh called on February 16.

“The kind of atrocities that are being meted out to farmers, the barbaric suppression should be stopped immediately,” Yechury said.

“Their valid demand of MSP, for which they were given an assurance, needs to be fulfilled by the Modi government. If they (the government) try to go back on their word, they will not succeed,” he said.

“Comrade Sitaram Yechury condemns Narendra Modi-led BJP govt’s actions against farmers at Shambhu border, expresses solidarity with struggling peasants and workers for their upcoming strike on February 16, 2024,” the CPI(M) said in the post.

- PTI

On the second day of the farmers’ Delhi Chalo march, traffic movement remained unrestricted at the city’s Ghazipur border with Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday while it was completely closed at the Singhu and Tikri borders with Haryana.

The NH-9 and NH-24, which connect Delhi with Ghaziabad and Noida and further with Meerut, witnessed uninterrupted movement of vehicles during the day.

According to police, traffic was heavy on both carriageways of the DND Flyway. Multiple layers of barricades, concrete blocks, iron nails and container walls have been placed at the city’s border points – Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri – to thwart the farmers’ march. A section of a road in a village near the Singhu border was dug up as well to prevent the march.

- PTI

The Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) announced that farmers would squat on rail tracks at seven places in Punjab on Thursday in protest against the Haryana Police action against protesting farmers at the borders.

BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan said their agitation will be held from 12 noon to 4 pm.

The decision was taken in protest against the use of tear gas shells and water cannons against protesting farmers by the Haryana security personnel at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, he said.

- PTI

More than two years after the massive agitation by farmers resulted in heavy losses for them, traders and shopkeepers at Delhi’s Singhu border are again looking at tough times with the current round of protests threatening their businesses. 

Though the march is currently contained at the Punjab-Haryana border, the fortifications of multiple layers of barricades and concrete blocks at Singhu, along with a huge deployment of police personnel, to stop them from entering the city have also restricted the cross-border movement of people.

With various restrictions in place, including for traffic, even locals are having a hard time commuting and shops are closing as early as 2 pm.

-PTI

Congress national general secretary Sachin Pilot said that farmers have once again started protesting due to the stubbornness of the Central government, which has been unable to solve their issues. He said the Congress party will provide a legal guarantee for minimum support price if its INDIA bloc came to power after the Lok Sabha elections.

“The Centre had promised to implement MSP. Now that the tenure of the central government is about to end, it should fulfil its promises,” the Congress leader said.

-PTI

Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said they are ready for holding talks with the Centre over their demands. Mr. Dallewal said Union Minister Anurag Thakur has, in his statement, said that the Centre was ready for holding talks and was also ready to resolve the issues of the farmers.

“We do not want to give any room to the Centre for saying that it was inviting us, but they did not accept it. That we have accepted and we are ready for talks,” he told reporters at the Shambhu border. Mr. Dallewal said the farmer leaders have taken the consent of fellow farmers for holding talks. “After taking their consent, we will hold talks,” he said.

-PTI

Commuters moving between Delhi and Haryana were either stuck up for hours on the closed borders or walked on foot to reach their respective destinations. Their plight was further aggravated by trenches dug up on the bylanes and streets at the border to prevent movement of vehicles and people impossible.

Police officials said some streets were still open for the people to cross the border but ultimately they will also be barricaded if the farmers reach the Singhu border.

Sonipat Commissioner of Police B. Satheesh Balan said multiple barricades were laid at several checkpoints between Ambala and Singhu border.

-PTI

The RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) said it does not support the farmers’ march as it was “political” and does not seem to be serving the farmers’ interest.

In a statement, BKS general secretary Mohini Mohan Mishra said farmers should get the remunerative price for their produce based on the cost but “political manoeuvres” in the name of farmers with an eye on the elections should be stopped.

He said that when movements are organised in the name of farmers with “political intentions” during elections, violence, chaotic environment and loss of national property follow.

-PTI

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Hitting out at the Centre, the Congress asked why it is “running away” from giving legal guarantee on MSP despite repeated promises and claimed the farmers have “lost faith” in the Modi government.

“In 2011, Narendra Modi, as Gujarat chief minister and chairman of a working group, had submitted a report to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which said that ‘In order to protect the interest of the farmers, we must ensure through legal provisions that no transaction between farmer and trader should be done below MSP’,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh wrote on X.

In many of his speeches and election rallies during the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, Modi had promised that all crops would be purchased at MSP, which would cover all costs and 50 per cent margin as per the Swaminathan Committee formula, Ramesh said.

“But till date, there is neither legal guarantee of MSP nor is it based on the Swaminathan formula of C2+50%,” he said.

-PTI

Many young farmers have made their tractors ready for removing the multi-layered cemented blocks at the Shambhu border. They have also made arrangements of water tankers in order to minimise the impact of any tear gas shell lobbed by the Haryana security personnel.

The farmers were also carrying water bottles and wet clothes to limit the impact of tear gas shells. One of the protesters was seen wearing body protective gears along with eye protective safety goggles at the Shambhu border.

-PTI

Scores of farmers from Punjab continued to stay put at the two borders of the State and Haryana while security personnel fired some tear gas shells on the protesters at the Shambhu border near Ambala.

A large number of tractor-trolleys could be seen parked along the national highway on the Punjab side.

The protesting farmers from Punjab plan to make a fresh attempt to break past the multiple layers of barricades at the border with Haryana.

- PTI

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said the they will consider invitation for talks from the Centre, but it should ensure a positive atmosphere for dialogue.

“It is said that you (PM Modi) have a big heart. Give us a law to guarantee the MSP,” Mr. Pandher said.

He also criticised the Centre for the police action against the protesting farmers, saying many cultivators have been injured.

“But even then we don’t say that we don’t want to hold a dialogue but we urge the government to stop all this and ensure a positive atmosphere. We were ready for talks yesterday and we are ready for it even today,” he said.

-PTI

The Haryana Police has become the first police force in India to use drones to launch tear gas devices. The Haryana Police dropped tear gas shells from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) on protesting farmers at Shambhu Barrier on the Punjab-Haryana boundary on Tuesday. 

The State government used drones made by Drone Imaging and Information Service of Haryana Limited (DRIISHYA), a public limited company incorporated in 2021, a police official told The Hindu. According to a Haryana government press release of April 4, 2023, the drones are designed for “surveying infrastructure projects, monitoring of agriculture and horticulture crops, and surveillance of sensitive areas for security purposes.

Officials said it is possible that Haryana procured the smoke launcher from a private vendor. The tear smoke canisters launched from the UAV or drone were however made at TSU in Tekanpur, Madhya Pradesh.

Farmers’ leader Rakesh Tikait on Tuesday stressed the need for launching another farmers’ struggle on the lines of the one staged in Delhi in for 13 months and called upon farmers to be ready for it.

Participating in a programme organised by the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) to mark the 88th birth anniversary of its founder M.D. Nanjundaswamy in Bengaluru, Mr. Tikait said a campaign had become the need of the hour as the problems of farmers were far from over and their demands were yet to be met with.

Mr. Tikait said all the farmers in the country, including those in Karnataka, were reeling under distress as the cost of production had increased while the returns from crops had dwindled.

Traffic slowed down to a crawl at several places in the national capital on Tuesday due to the restrictions imposed by the police in view of a ‘Delhi Chalo’ call issued by farmer associations from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab.

Movement of traffic was hit especially hard at the city’s borders with Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, where rows of barricades and barbed wire were spread out to prevent farmers from entering Delhi.

Commuters who tried to enter the Capital through the Delhi Noida Direct (DND) flyway had a harrowing time on the road, with many being forced to turn their vehicles around to avoid the standstill traffic.

The Punjab government has sounded an alert in hospitals located near the Haryana border in the wake of many farmers getting injured following clashes with police at Shambhu and Khanauri borders.

According to official sources, the State government has also sought from the Haryana government not to use lathi-charge and hurl tear gas shells at farmers.

The State government has stepped up the number of ambulances along the Haryana border, besides asking doctors and other staff to remain on duty, sources said.

The government has issued an alert to hospitals located in Sangrur, Patiala, Dera Bassi, Mansa and Bathinda, they said. 

PTI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday spoke over the phone with a farmer who was injured during police action at the Shambhu border near Ambala.

During his visit to a hospital in Rajpura, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring arranged a conversation between Mr. Gandhi and the farmer over a mobile phone. The farmer was admitted to the hospital.

Mr. Gandhi asked the injured farmer where all he sustained injuries, and the farmer replied that he had sustained wounds on his hands and near his eye.

The former Congress president also asked the farmer how many protestors sustained injuries in the police action.

When the farmer, who was an ex-serviceman, explained about the police action, Mr. Gandhi said, “It is completely wrong.” “We are with you. Don’t worry,” Mr. Gandhi told the farmer.

“You are fighting for what is important for the country. You earlier worked for the country and you are doing it now as well. ‘Shabash’ (Well done). Best of luck,” Mr. Gandhi told the farmer.

The second phase of Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in Jharkhand, which was scheduled to commence on Wednesday, has been cancelled, a party official said. 

Mr. Gandhi had to leave for Delhi for a “special purpose”. Party sources said the cancellation took place as he rushed to take part in the agitation. Will he meet the protesting farmers? It has to be seen. 

Authorities in Punjab have raised an objection over the use of a drone by Haryana to air-drop tear gas shells on agitating farmers in their territory at the Shambhu border, a senior official said on Wednesday. 

Punjab’s Patiala Deputy Commissioner (DC) Showkat Ahmed Parray has written to the Ambala Deputy Commissioner, asking him not to send their drone inside Punjab’s territory at the Shambhu border near Ambala.

Haryana security personnel had deployed a drone on Tuesday to drop tear gas shells to disperse farmers who were trying to break barricades in an attempt to march towards Delhi to press the Centre for various demands. Farmers claimed the unmanned aerial vehicle dropped several tear gas canisters on them when they were standing well inside Punjab territory.

PTI

The Haryana government on Tuesday extended the ban on mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts by two days till February 15 in view of the farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo’ agitation.

These districts are Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa, the government said in an order. 

According to the order, the suspension of the mobile internet services, bulk SMS (excluding banking and mobile recharge) and all dongle services, etc. provided on mobile networks except the voice calls in the jurisdiction of districts Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa has been extended till February 15. 

PTI

Long traffic jams hit the Delhi-Ghaziabad border were seen on Wednesday due to the farmers’ protest and security checks put in place by the authorities.Rapid Action Force personnel, Police personnel and Riot Control Vehicles are deployed at the Singhu Border in Delhi because of the farmers’ protest. 

DSP Anil Kumar of Jhajjar, Haryana said that the traffic has been diverted and currently the atmosphere is peaceful.”Currently, the atmosphere is peaceful. Traffic has been diverted. The movement of the pedestrians is normal,” DSP Kumar told ANI. 

ANI

SKM also called on all its member organisations and their units across India to strongly protest against the attack on farmers in Punjab on February 16, in all the villages across India and make the Grameen Bandh and Industrial/Sectoral Strike across India even more massive, extensive and successful. 

The SKM has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to immediately withdraw the forces and protect the rights of farmers to organise the Delhi Chalo protest and resolve the farmers’ and workers’ struggle through discussions. 

ANI

Condemning the police action against the protesting farmers, including the use of tear gas shells, and sealing multiple entry points to the Capital, the Opposition said the Narendra Modi government seems to be at war with the farmers. 

At a press conference in Delhi, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the government is using unusually heavy force against the farmers even though they have held peaceful protests so far. “The way they have dug ditches, blocked roads with concrete boulders and heavy vehicles, it feels like we are in the midst of a war. The government is treating the farmers’ protest at par with attack from enemy country,” Mr. Surjewala said. 

Security personnel fired some tear gas shells on farmers Wednesday morning at the Shambhu border near Ambala as the peasants gathered there to resume their ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest, the agitators claimed.

The protesting farmers from Punjab plan to make a fresh attempt to break past the multiple layers of barricades at the border with Haryana in attempt to march to Delhi to press for various demands.

The Haryana security personnel lobbed a few tear gas shells at around 8 am on Wednesday when some farmers gathered near the barricades at the Shambhu border, the protesters claimed. - PTI