Haryana Police fired teargas shells on farmers in the morning as there was a clash between security forces and farmers. The same was happened on February 13 when thousands of farmers had begun their march to Delhi to press on their demands, the chief among them is legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) to all their crops. Central government in Delhi has estimated that there were around 14,000 farmers at Shambhu border along with 1200 tractors and 300 cars.

On Monday, February 19, farmers rejected the Centre’s offer of MSP on five crops for five years during the fourth round of talks held on Sunday night, February 18, between Union Ministers and representatives of farmer’s unions. The call to Delhi Chalo was originally given by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, having support of over 200 other farmers unions. Other farmers unions, such as Samyukta Kisan Morcha, that had led the 2020-21 historical farmers’ protest at Delhi borders, are separately organizing protests and demonstrations, including protesting before the BJP and NDA legislators.

Farmers in entire Punjab have become restive. Marching farmers towards Delhi have been stopped at Shambhu border of Haryana. However, the farmers within the BJP ruled states Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are battling within to stop protesting and demonstrating farmers who are trying to reach Delhi borders where they are being stopped by security forces from entering Delhi.

On Tuesday, February 20, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had slammed the protesting farmers camping at Shambhu border and said, “According to the Motor Vehicle Act, you can’t use tractor-trolleys on the highway. You are travelling from Amritsar to Delhi on trolleys,” adding that everyone knows about the right but there are constitutional duties as well.” The High Court asked Punjab government to prevent large gatherings.

Punjab government is presently led by AAP, a party that supports the demand of farmers, on the one hand and it is beyond the capacity of state to stop the farmers who are moving towards Delhi peacefully, with their tractors, trolleys, and now even with bulldozers and heavy earth moving machines. Since Modi government is the chief party to settle the farmers demand of legal guarantee on MSP, but refuses to accede to the demand, while hell bent on stopping the farmers’ march to Delhi at any cost, it has a political dimension. Modi government at the Centre has given instructions to BJP ruled Haryana and Uttar Pradesh government to stop farmers at their borders so that they can not take the protest march to Delhi. However, farmers continued gathering with their equipment and food items to reach Delhi with an intention to stay for months in protest.

Haryana Police urged its counterpart in Punjab to seize bulldozers and other equipment form farmers that may pose safety risk to their security forces. Haryana Police have even asked bulldozer and earth movers machine owners not to provide such equipment to farmers threatening them of action since it would be non-bailable offence and they might be held criminally liable.

Haryana Police had dropped teargas on farmers at Shambhu border from drones on February 13. However, farmers braved them and brought some of the drones down by entangling their wings and fans by flying kites. Now today, they are seen wearing gas masks to defeat the teargas bombardment by police. Farmers have said that their tractors and vehicles are punctured by police using nails on the roads and even firing on tyres.

Despite all these farmers’ leaders said, “We will move forward, and the entire world will see us moving ahead peacefully. If the government feels that by killing the farmers their problems will be solved, then it can do so. But we will continue to move forward peacefully. If there is any violence, the government will be responsible.”

It is in this backdrop, heavy security has been deployed in the National Capital Territory Delhi to prevent farmers from multiple states, chiefly from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. There are reports of clashes from several places from states between the security forces and farmers causing even injuries and traffic chaos. By afternoon of February 21, another point at Haryana Khanauri borders became scene of teargas shelling and clash between farmers and security forces. Farmers have been assembling on various borders of Delhi which caused a chaos of traffic in Delhi and surrounding towns.

BJP has appealed to farmers to call off their Delhi March, asserting that Modi government has done lot for farmers. Farmers’ progress is our priority and will continue to remain so. However, farmers want something concrete – legal guarantee on MSP for all crops, which Centre does not want to grant, and agitating farmers not ready to settle on the less. Central government has called for the fifth round of talks, and sent advisories to Punjab government to maintain law and order in the state in the wake of farmers’ agitation.

Farmers demand for legal guarantee is supported by the opposition political parties, even the Congress and several others from INDIA alliance. Rajasthan police has resorted to water cannon to disperse Youth Congress workers who were organizing protest demonstration before CM’s residence in support of farmers’ demand. Situation on the Punjab border was very tense by afternoon, and there is every possibility of escalating the farmers’ agitation across several states, chiefly Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh especially western region.

In the meantime, SKM, that led the 2020-21 farmers protest, has announced that they will have a meeting on February 22 to decide on the future course of farmers agitation across the country. They said that Modi government cheated the farmers by not fulfilling the written assurances to them given in December 2021 after which SKM had called off their agitation. Though PM Modi had withdrawn his three controversial farm laws that sought to bring Corporate to farm sector, said SKM leaders, farmers problems have remained as it is or rather worsened due to many other reasons. (IPA Service)