 "farmers protest")
Farmers' protest: The Haryana government, on Wednesday, alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government wants the agitating farmers to create terror in Delhi.
On the AAP's support to the farmers, Harayana Home Minister Anil Vij said, "...When farmers started moving from Amritsar, they did not even try to stop them. This clearly means that they want the farmers to create terror in Delhi. Stone pelting is going on and one of our DSP and 25 other police officers are injured in this..."
Punjab objects to Haryana's drones in its territory
Vij's response came after the Punjab government issued a notice earlier today, objecting to Haryana's use of drones to air-drop tear gas shells on agitating farmers in their territory at the Shambhu border.
The Punjab police has written to the Ambala Deputy Commissioner, asking them not to send drones inside Punjab's territory at the border near Ambala. The development comes after the Haryana police used drones to deploy tear gas shells on farmers in a bid to thwart the protest from heading towards Delhi.
Vij reacts to MSP demand
About 200 farm bodies, from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, have embarked on 'Delhi Chalo' march to present their 12 demands in front of the Narendra Modi government. These demands include a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP), debt waivers, and pensions, among other issues.
On the MSP demand, Vij said, "...The report on MSP came in 2004 when the Congress was in power. Why didn't they do anything in 10 years?... The farmers wanted to go to Delhi and have a conversation with representatives of the government but when they came to Chandigarh, the farmer leaders refused to talk to them…"
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Vij's remark referred to the report of the Swaminathan Commission on farmers, which is among the focal points of the ongoing protest.
Chandigarh talks collapsE
The 'Delhi Chalo' march began a day after the second round of Centre's talks with the farm bodies collapsed on Monday. The five-hour-long talks were held in Chandigarh, in which Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Arjun Munda represented the government.
The Centre has urged the farmers to resolve the issue via dialogue and not cause disruption to public services with the protest. Notably, the entire Delhi-NCR region is wrapped under tight security arrangements and heavy traffic regulation as the police fear possible disruption to law and order due to the protest.
Delhi's borders have been sealed to prevent the farmers from entering the national capital, and Section 144 has been imposed to prohibit unlawful assembly.
Opposition parties, including the AAP, the Congress and others, have extended support to the farmers, labelling their demands valid and criticising the Centre over the fortification of Delhi.
(With ANI inputs)
