Farmer protest: one person killed, “Dilli Chalo” march postponed

The National Coordination Committee and the General Body meeting of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the farmers’ organization leading the farmers’ protest at the Punjab-Haryana border, will take place on Thursday. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss the situation and decide on “decisive action to advance the struggle,” according to news agency PTI.

On Wednesday, farmers called off their two-day ‘Dilli Chalo’ march, citing the death of a protestor and the injuries of twelve police officers following fighting at Khanauri, one of the two locations at the Punjab-Haryana border where the farmers are temporarily camped. The Haryana Police, however, claimed that no one was slain.

FARMERS’ PROTEST: RECENT ADVANCES
While expressing sympathy for the protester’s death, Subhkaran Singh (age 21) was accused by the SKM of being “solely responsible for the present crisis and casualty” after altercations between farmers and police at Khanauri. From Baloke village in Punjab’s Bathinda district, Subhkaran Singh was descended.

After a two-day break after the unsuccessful fourth round of negotiations with a panel of three Union ministers about the legal assurance of minimum support crops (MSP) for crops, Punjabi farmers in Khanauri and Shambhu resumed their protest on Wednesday.

As the demonstrators attempted to approach the layers of barriers that had obstructed their march to Delhi, the police, however, fired tear gas shells many times.

Arjun Munda, the union minister of agriculture, urged calm amid the fighting between farmers and police at the Punjab-Haryana border on Wednesday and asked for a fifth round of negotiations with the farmers.

“Farmers’ issues have been discussed in many rounds of talks with farmer organizations. We have informed them that because conversations are the only way to address problems, we would find a solution via talk. Together, we should come up with a solution that works for everyone. “I hope we can work together to find a solution,” Munda said to the press.

Gas masks and goggles were seen on a number of farmers demonstrating to shield themselves from tear gas. Drones were used by the Haryana Police to monitor agricultural activity beyond the barriers and to deliver tear gas shells.

The farmers said that at the border crossings at Khanauri and Shambhu, Haryana Police officers had shot rubber bullets in addition to tear gas shells. Leader of the farmers, Sarwan Singh Pandher, said that they would choose the next move on Friday night.

About 12 police officers were hurt, according to a spokesman for the Haryana Police, when they were assaulted at Khanauri, which is in the Sangrur district of Punjab, near the border with Jind, Haryana, with lathis and stones.

After encircling the security officers, the demonstrators also doused their stubble with chili powder and lit it on fire, according to the official. The spokeswoman said that the smoke caused respiratory problems and eye discomfort for the staff assigned to the region.

An official said that a farmer in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, attempted suicide after setting himself on fire for a debt-related problem. Brijpal, the farmer, was taken to the hospital in an ambulance after suffering minor facial burns.

According to Yogesh Sharma, district president of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), Brijpal attempted suicide since he was not receiving any help for his issues and was afraid of receiving a warning from Punjab National Bank even though he had never received a loan from them.

The event occurred when farmers participated in protests and marches in support of the agitation in the western regions of Uttar Pradesh.

Naresh Tikait, the head of BKU, has invited farmers to take part in a tractor march on February 26 and 27 in order to “condemn atrocities” against their Punjabi and Haryanan counterparts.

The SKM denounced in a statement Shubkaran Singh’s killing as the result of “brutal police repression”.

“This is a vicious attack on breadwinners from farming families who were merely demonstrating to demand that the Prime Minister carry out his written commitments. The current crisis and the casualties are entirely the responsibility of the Prime Minister and the government, who failed to carry out the deal with SKM agreed on December 9, 2021 (the day the first farmers’ protest ended), the statement said.