Farmers call off foot march to Delhi for a day

New Delhi: The protesting farmers on Saturday called off their ‘Delhi Chalo’ for the next day after some of them sustained injuries in tear gas shelling by security personnel in Haryana as freshers. jatta of 101 farmers tried to cross the police barricade in Shambhu area along the Punjab border.

Punjab farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said they will soon decide on the next course of action.

Farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have been pressing for various demands, including a statutory guarantee on the Minimum Support Price (MSP). Farmers’ unions have also been pressuring the Center to initiate talks with them to address their issues.

Briefing the media, Mr. Pandher said, “The two forums have decided to call us back jatta. About 17 farmers sustained injuries during the action by security personnel in Haryana”.

The farmer leader claimed that “chemical mixed water was used to disperse the farmers and more tear gas shells were used this time”. The police, however, rejected the accusation.

Mr. Pandher also said that while the debate is going on in Parliament regarding the 75 years since the adoption of the Constitution, “No one is raising the voice of farmers in Parliament… Here we want to know which Constitution applies to our protest. How can a jatta out of 101 farmers are a threat to the country’s law and order?”

Another farmer leader, Manjit Singh Rai, claimed that rubber bullets were also used by the security personnel to disperse the protesting farmers, in which one farmer was seriously injured.

“Both forums have decided to call back jatta for today and the next course of action will be taken after a meeting,” said Mr. Rai.

Regarding the next action, Mr. Pandher said that a tractor march would be organized in the states except Punjab on December 16. A ‘railway roco’ protest will be held on December 18 from noon to 3 pm in Punjab.

Haryana security personnel fired tear gas shells and also used water cannon to disperse the protesters. The action came after the group of farmers, who resumed their walk towards Delhi shortly after noon on Saturday from the Shambhu protest site on the Punjab-Haryana border, reached barricades erected by security personnel from Haryana.

Ambala’s Superintendent of Police SS Bhoria told the farmers that they should take permission from the concerned authorities if they plan to protest in Delhi. “We’ll also help you get there,” he said.

Where you are sitting in protest, as per Supreme Court order of July 24, directions have been issued to maintain status quo at Shambhu border so that no untoward incident takes place, SP Bhoria told them.

On Saturday, the protesting farmers made their third attempt to march on the national capital. The farmers had made two previous attempts on December 6 and 8, but were not allowed to continue by security personnel.