Farmers’ protest: Protesting farmers threaten to block Delhi-Jaipur highway today, intensify stir
With farmers having initially threatened to block the Delhi-Jaipur highway on Saturday, Gurgaon Police had already beefed-up security measures along National Highway 48 (NH-48).
FollowNew Delhi: Thousands of farmers –– protesting against the government’s three farm laws –– have announced a Delhi Chalo March on the Jaipur-Delhi highway on Sunday as they pledge to intensify their agitation despite a fresh message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the new legislations.
The farmers have been protesting at various border points of Delhi for over two weeks, demanding repeal of the new farm laws.
Farmers from South Haryana and Rajasthan will be moving towards the capital Sunday morning. Officials in Gurgaon and Nuh, parts of which fall along the Delhi-Jaipur expressway, have made elaborate arrangements to ensure law and order is maintained and traffic is not hindered.
“Farmer groups from Rajasthan are coming towards Haryana. We will join them and gather at Shahjahanpur in Alwar near the Haryana-Rajasthan border by Saturday night and proceed towards Delhi on Sunday,” said Azad Khan, Haryana vice-president, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU).
Protesters will also hold a nationwide demonstration at all district offices on Monday and hold a hunger strike from 8 am to 5 pm, they said.
PM Modi assured farmers on Saturday that the reforms in the agrarian sector were aimed at helping them. "Reforms will help draw investment in agriculture and benefit farmers," he said at the annual meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi.
The farmers, however, said they want nothing less than the new laws to be scrapped. A petition was filed on Friday in the Supreme Court by the Bharatiya Kisan Union that sought repeal them. The top court has already issued notices to the centre on a batch of petitions challenging the laws.
In other news, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar held talks on Saturday with ministerial colleagues, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, and a group of farmer leaders who support the new agricultural laws, there appeared to be no breakthrough in the standoff with farmers.
At least five rounds of formal talks have taken place between the Centre and representatives of farmers, but the deadlock has continued with the unions sticking to their main demand for the repeal of the three contentious laws.
