 "Farmers burn effigies during the ‘Black Day’ protest at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border, in Patiala district, on Friday. (Photo: PTI)")
As thousands of farmers continued their protests on the borders of Punjab and Haryana, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-political), which is spearheading the current round of agitation demanding the legalising of minimum support price, announced fresh protests starting from Saturday. The stir will culminate in a meeting on February 29, when further plans will be announced.
On Saturday, the protesting farmers will hold a candle march in memory of those who died allegedly in police action.
The protesters had not yet decided whether to come back to the negotiating table till the time this report was filed.
Meanwhile, in a related development, a PIL (public interest litigation) petition was filed in the Supreme Court with the allegation that the rights of the “peacefully protesting” farmers had been violated by the Centre and some states.
The petition said the Centre and some states had given “threats” and fortified Delhi’s borders after several farmer unions called protests seeking a legal guarantee for MSP for their crops and implementing the Swaminathan committee’s recommendations.
The petition was filed by Agnostos Theos, managing director of the Sikh Chamber of Commerce. Earlier, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, in his Budget speech, announced waiving interest and the penalty on certain crop loans. He said the state’s price deficiency payment scheme (Bhawantar Bharpai Yojana) now covered 21 fruits and vegetables. Elsewhere, the Haryana Police said it was withdrawing its earlier decision to invoke the National Security Act (NSA) against some farmer leaders who were part of the agitation even as protests continued on the Khanauri side of the Punjab-Haryana border.
Police used tear gas to disperse farmers heading towards Khanauri on the Punjab border, where farmers, mostly from Punjab, have been camping since last week after their “Delhi Chalo” march was halted by security forces.
A few protesters threw stones at the police when farmers from Kheri Chopta village were stopped from going to Khanauri. A clash between the police and the farmers ensued, forcing Haryana Police to fire tear gas shells.
Some police persons and farmers were injured in the clash, officials said, adding some of them had been detained. In Punjab, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) observed a “black day” and burnt effigies of BJP leaders in protest against the Haryana Police’s action against agitating farmers. The call was given by the SKM on Thursday to mourn the death of Shubhkaran Singh, who died in clashes between the Haryana Police and farmers from Punjab. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore and a government job for Shubhkaran’s sister.
The Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), which is part of the SKM, said it held demonstrations at 47 places in 17 Punjab districts in protest against Singh’s death.
In Delhi, central ministers continued their effort to highlight the steps being taken to support the farmers by the Centre while at the same time appealing to them to come to the negotiating table. The Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, in its all India conference being organised in Rajasthan on Saturday, will take up the need for ensuring remunerative prices. Participants will discuss how the government should handle such protests. According to PTI, a senior official said the central government had allocated nearly Rs 6,500 crore for mechanisation in the farm sector since 2014-15 as part of efforts to reduce input cost and boost farmers’ income.
The Centre has also provided more than 1.5 million machines and equipment to farmers on subsidy.
