Farmers Protest : ‘Chalo Delhi’ March Begins From Punjab’s Fatehgarh Sahib

Farmers, mainly from Punjab, accompanied by Haryana and Uttar Pradesh counterparts, began their ‘Chalo Delhi’ march, after their meeting with the Union government remained inconclusive.

On the eve of the march, farmer leaders from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh met with central ministers Piyush Goyal and Arjun Munda for a second round of talks, with the meeting lasting for five hours, in the Centre’s last ditch attempt to halt the protest which is expected to cause gridlock across Delhi NCR on Tuesday.

Union Agriculture Minister Munda said after the meeting that a consesus was reached on most of the issues concerning the farmers. However, the farmers asserted that they will march on Tuesday, leading to the closure of many state borders across Delhi.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha will leads Tuesday’s march to press the Centre to accept their demands, including the enactment of a law to guarantee a minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

The legal guarantee of MSP is the prime reason for the farmers’ protest. Apart from this, the farmers have also demanded the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, as well as farm debt waiver.

Top points on farmers’ ‘Chalo Delhi’ march on Tuesday –

Farmers from Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are launching a mega protest in the national capital of Delhi to call for a legal guarantee of MSP. The ‘Delhi Chalo’ march was announced last week to urge the Centre to accept their demands.

Farmers have put forth multiple conditions like legal MSP guarantee, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver and “justice” for victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

Security has been intensified at the Singh, Tikri and Ghazipur border in Delhi, with cement barricading, metal nails and barriers installed to restrict movement of vehincles and prevent disturbances in the national capital.

The Delhi police on Sunday imposed section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code at the Uttar Pradesh borders to prevent mishaps ahead of the farmers’ protests on Tuesday.

Over 50,000 security personnel have been deployed at the borders in Delhi, and internet and bulk SMS services have been suspended in seven districts – Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa – for February 13.