A little over two years after hitting the streets to protest against the three, former contentious farm laws, farmers from Punjab and Haryana have once again called for a massive march ‘Delhi Chalo’ to seek assured prices (Minimum Support Price) for their crops.
The protest march comes after marathon talks with three union ministers -- Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and MoS Home Nityanand Rai -- were left inconclusive.
Security remains tight in the national capital in view of the march, with personnel deployed in huge numbers and barricades regulating movement in central Delhi and at border points with Haryana, causing hardships to commuters.
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The traffic movement at Singhu (Delhi-Sonipat) and Tikri borders (Delhi-Bahadurgarh) have been suspended while security personnel in anti-riot gear are deployed and drones are being used to keep an eye on the situation. Multiple layers of barricades, concrete blocks, iron nails and container walls have been placed at the Singhu and Tikri borders with Haryana as well as at the Ghazipur border with Uttar Pradesh.
On Tuesday, farmers from Punjab faced tear gas shells -- some dropped by a drone -- at two border points of Haryana-Punjab as protesters tried to break past barricades that were installed to stop them from heading to Delhi. Till late at night, they were stopped at the Punjab-Haryana border by the Haryana police.
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The current demands of the protest, however, stand different from those during the year-long 2020-21 protest. Back then, hundreds of farmers united under the undivided Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) camped at Delhi borders against three farm laws, which were ultimately repealed by the government.
But this time, the march is being led by over 250 farmers’ unions under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), which claims to have the allegiance of about 100 unions, and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political), a platform of another 150 unions.
The key demand of the 12-point agenda is a law to guarantee an MSP for all crops and the determination of crop prices in line with the Dr M S Swaminathan Commission’s Report. The other bids include a full debt waiver for farmers and labourers, implementation of the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 with certain terms and conditions, punishment for the Lakhimpur Kheri killings perpetrators, pensions for farmers, scrapping of electricity amended bill of 2020, and so on.
The leadership also varies between the two demonstrations. The SKM, which had spearheaded the 2020-21 protest is not participating in the current ‘Dilli Chalo’ march. However, it has called for a Grameen Bharat bandh on February 16.
The current demonstration has been organised by SKM (non-political) and KMM, two independent farmers’ bodies. Fresh permutations and combinations surfaced among farmers’ unions once they returned home following their triumph. Disagreements intensified, resulting in multiple splinters within the groups.
The SKM (non-political) is a split of SKM since July 2022 and is currently coordinated by Jagjit Singh Dallewal, president of the Punjab-based Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Sidhupur farm union. Dallewal broke away from SKM following differences of opinion in the union’s leadership.
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The KMM, on the other hand, was formed out of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) that did not participate in the 2020-21 protest.
The KMM, on the other hand, was formed out of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) that did not participate in the 2020-21 protest. It is being led by Sarwan Singh Pandher, who said to the media on Tuesday that the protest is not political. According to a report by Hindustan Times, he said, “We blame the Congress as much as the BJP. Neither do we support the Left. What revolution has come in West Bengal where the Left ruled for so many years? We are not in favour of any political party.”
Big farm leaders including Rakesh Tikait are staying away from this protest although he had condemned such a hostile environment towards the farmers.
Tikait's brother Naresh Tikait said on Tuesday it is not right to always march to New Delhi with every demand. "Different states have different demands. But will the farmers always stay on a protest, will they always march towards Delhi? The government should look into it. This stubborn attitude is not turning out to be good for anyone," Naresh Tikait said, according to the report by HT.
