Current affairs

Farmers protest: Peasants advance their march to Delhi to protest against Center's farm bills!

By alagu, 27 November, 2020
India, Delhi, Farm Bills, Protests.

"We have been doing a peaceful protest and we will continue it. We will enter Delhi protesting peacefully", this has been the collective voice of the farmers who have been marching towards Delhi from various states to unleash another round of protests against the Center's recently proposed farm bills of what the peasants called as the threat to their lives and livelihoods. 

The farmers affiliated to 33 organizations that are part of the United Farmers Front, an all India body of over 470 farmers' unions had decided to participate in the indefinite protest in the national capital. A large group of farmers from Punjab had begun marching to Delhi through Haryana on Thursday to protest against the farm bills. Their march was stopped by the police forces at the Punjab-Haryana border. 

The Central government had deployed security forces to block the entry of farmers into Delhi. The security forces had installed barricades at several places on the border to restrict the farmers to proceed further. The peasants had endured tear gas shells and water cannons and they break through the barriers put by the police to carry on their protests against the farm bills. The local farmers in Haryana and joined the farmers from Punjab for the protest and they decided to stop for the night at Panipat, which is close to the national capital. 

Several farmers' unions had joined the protests and they stood firm at their decision of reaching Delhi to stage their protests. One of the leaders of the unions had asserted that they will hold protests at the border if they weren't allowed to cross Haryana and to reach Delhi. The march had seen incidents close to the clash between the farmers and policemen on Thursday as several protesters and policemen were injured as farmers broke barricades and threw down from a bridge at the Punjab-Haryana border. 

Named as 'Delhi Chalo' protest, the farmers had camped at the border on Thursday overnight amid rains and chilly winds and they collectively vowed that they won't turn back from their path of marching towards Delhi. According to reports, the Delhi police had estimated around 3,00,000 farmers from Punjab and Haryana would be reaching Delhi to stage protests against the farm bills.

The fleet of farmers comprises of men and women had broken down the barricades and measures installed by the police to stop them from proceeding further. The farmers had pelted stones at security forces in the border and as the protest advanced to Delhi, many farmers had joined in the agitation. The Delhi police had ordered the farmers not to enter Delhi as they don't have the permission to stage the protest. 

The farmers' protest had stirred a war of words between the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana. While Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had attacked his Punjab counterpart Amarinder Singh by stating that the latter had incited the farmers to protest against the Central government. Countering the attack, Congress Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had questioned Khattar on the protests carried out by the farmers in Haryana. 

Supporting the protests by farmers, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal said that the farmers have a constitutional right for the peaceful demonstration and their protests cannot be stopped by using tear gas and water cannons against them. The reports say that farmers have been protesting against the farm bills that they claim would be suppressing the grounds of the minimum support price and the bills would be pumping privatization into the agricultural sector, causing further damages to the peasants and their livelihoods. The Center has proposed three farm bills back in September and the nation had witnessed a similar scale of protests against the government, urging to revoke the bills that menace their livelihoods. 

 

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