Farmers’ Protest: ‘Delhi Chalo’ is on hold for two days as opposition slams the centre after a farmer is killed in clashes in Khanauri

Following the death of 21-year-old farmer Shubhkaran Singh from a head injury at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border, farmer leaders decided to postpone the “Delhi Chalo” March for two days. The fighting in Khanauri also resulted in the injuries of around 12 police officers.

Leader of the farmers, Sarwan Singh Pandher, informed the media late on Wednesday that they would be holding talks over the Khanauri event over the next two days. “We’ll make everything clear eventually, including our next course of action.

The opposition parties, however, attacked the center harshly for not giving in to the demands of the farmers.

YOGI ADITYANATH DIRECTS COMMITTEE FORMATION
Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, ordered the creation of a committee on Wednesday to investigate the problems facing Gautam Buddh Nagar farmers who are staging protests against the Noida and Greater Noida government.

The order was issued in advance of the local farmers’ organizations’ threat to march to Delhi on foot in order to urge their demands. They made a botched effort on February 8 to go to the nation’s capital.

These farmers are requesting an increase in compensation as well as built plots in place of the land that the NTPC and local government had purchased from them.

District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma said that the committee, which would be led by the UP Revenue Council chairman, will investigate the problems facing the farmers and then provide its findings to the government.

BAN ON MOBILE INTERNET EXTENDSED BY HARYANA GOVT
In light of the continuing farmers’ protest, the Haryana government has again decided to prolong the suspension of bulk SMS and mobile internet services in seven of its districts till February 23.

The districts of Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad, and Sisra would not be allowed to use the internet.

The ruling states that all mobile network services (apart from voice calls) that are offered via dongles, bulk SMS (but not banking or cell recharge), and mobile internet services have been suspended throughout the seven districts’ jurisdiction until February 23.

In accordance with Rule 2 of the 2017 Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules and Section 5 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the order has been issued.

UP FARMERS TRIUMPH TO SET APART
In order to express their demands for MSP, farmers from all throughout the western UP districts organized demonstrations and marches. There were many demonstrations in Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Ghaziabad, and Greater Noida.

One of the farmers in Muzaffarnagar attempted suicide by lighting himself on fire. Luckily, his fellow demonstrators quickly put out the fire and took him to a nearby hospital.

Upon visiting the hospital, Chief Magistrate Vikash Kashyap reported that the farmer, Brijpal, had received prompt medical attention for minor burn burns on his face.

In the meanwhile, BKU chairman Naresh Tikait invited the farmers demonstrating to march with tractors on February 26 and 27 to denounce the atrocity committed against their counterparts in Punjab and Haryana.

A FARMER LIVES AT THE KHANAURI BORDER AFTER CLASHES
Shubhkaran Singh, a 21-year-old Punjabi farmer, lost his life in Wednesday’s fighting during the farmers’ demonstration at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border.

The fighting at the Khanauri border also resulted in around 12 police officers being hurt.

In an effort to prevent the farmers from breaking over the security barriers at the borders of Shambhu and Khanauri, the Haryana Police also shot water cannons and tear gas shells at them.

The leaders of the farmer movement, after the confrontations and Singh’s murder, agreed to extend their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march by two days. Head of the Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee and prominent farmer Sarwan Singh Pandher declared: “We will have discussions over the incident that took place in Khanauri.” We shall be marching towards Delhi for two days. We will make all of the details clear later on, along with our next course of action.

In response to the death of the 21-year-old farmer, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said, “Today at the Khanuri border, news of the death of 21-year-old Shubhakaran was received. The fact that my state’s young are no longer with us makes me extremely sad. I have a question for the federal government. that Punjabi farmers are unable to go to their nation’s capital?”

Attack by the opposition over the farmer’s death
Rahul Gandhi, the head of the Congress party, and Mallikarjun Kharge expressed their condolences for Shubhkaran Singh’s loss in the gunfire at the Khanauri border, stating that history would need an investigation into the deaths of farmers.

Kharge said, “When farmers’ lives will not be saved…,” in a post on X.How then will India continue to say nothing? “It is extremely painful that young farmer Shubhkaran Singh of Bathinda died as a result of gunfire on the Khanauri border.”

Rahul Gandhi wrote on X with the hashtag “#FarmerLivesMatter,” saying that “one day history will definitely demand an account of the ‘killing of farmers’ from the BJP which is hiding behind the friendly media.”

Sharad Pawar, the founder of the National Congress Party (NCP), stated on Wednesday that although Prime Minister Narendra Modi is offering farmers different “guarantees,” farmers are also taking their own lives due to financial problems.

“Today, farmers are facing hardships in the country,” Pawar remarked during a colloquium in Manchar, Ambegaon tehsil. He works really hard, yet he still does not get a fair price for his goods. Farmers get indebted when input costs are high and production is poor, and as a result, they may resort to drastic measures. This kind of situation is common throughout the nation right now.

According to the seasoned politician, the PM is often featured in commercials in newspapers and on television, promising farmers things like a favorable price and market for their crops.

“On one side, there is ‘Modi Ki Guarantee,’ but on the other side, somewhere someone (referring to farmers) is committing suicide,” Pawar said, criticizing the Center for its policies.

RAKESH TIKAIT SAYS THAT POLITICIANS WILL BE BANISHED FROM VILLAGES
Rakesh Tikait, national spokesman for the Bhartiya Kisan Union, said on Wednesday that if the government forbids farmers from attending the nation’s capital, they would likewise forbid politicians and the government from visiting their areas in the course of elections.

Farmers from Meerut marched to the collectorate on tractors to demand that their requests for MSP for crops be met and that criminal proceedings against some of the farmers who were involved in the 2020–21 farmers agitation be dropped.

It is not acceptable to drive nails into the pavement. We’ll do the same in our villages if they put nails in our path. It is also necessary for us to barricade our communities. Tikait said reporters, “We will not allow them to enter our villages if they are not allowing us to reach Delhi.”

Tikait attacked the Center, claiming that industrialists are the only people who belong in government. “MSP would have been guaranteed by law if it were a farmers’ government.”