The Chaos erupted at the Punjab-Haryana (Shambhu) and Jind borders on Tuesday as protesting farmers began removing barricades. In response, the Haryana Police fired rounds of tear gas and water cannons. Tear gas shells, some dropped from drones, were lobbed by police in the face-off that lasted several hours at the Shambhu border near Ambala in Haryana. The Haryana Police also used tear gas canisters and water cannons against protesters at the Jind district border. The farmers, in their attempts to breach the barricades near the Punjab-Haryana border, were pushed back by the police, who used drones to drop tear gas shells to prevent any escalation. Upon the police firing tear gas shells, protesters swiftly covered them with wet jute bags to mitigate the smoke.
Meanwhile the only takeaway from the inconclusive Centre-farmers organisations meetings is that the Union Government has agreed to withdraw the cases against the farmers registered during the 2020-21 agitation. After a five-hour-long meeting in Chandigarh late on Monday, chaired by Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Arjun Munda, farmer organisations’ key demands for a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops and pensions for farmers could not make progress, ultimately prompting the striking farmers to march with their Delhi Chalo call.
The sources also stated that farmer leaders remained adamant about a legal guarantee for minimum support price for crops and pensions for farmers, which are among their key demands. Additionally, Union ministers are believed to have agreed to provide compensation to any families of farmers who were left out and suffered losses during the previous agitation.
However, Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, who, along with Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal, attended the second round of talks with the farmer leaders, said that a consensus was reached on most issues, and a formula was proposed for resolving some others through the formation of a committee.
Munda said enacting a law guaranteeing MSP on crops cannot be rushed without consulting all stakeholders. He urged the protesting farmer groups to engage in structured discussions with the government.
“We are still hopeful that farmer bodies will engage in talks... We will endeavour to resolve issues in the coming days,” said Union Agriculture Minister.
“In the two rounds of discussions, we agreed to many of their demands. However, there was no agreement on certain issues. The talks are ongoing,” Munda explained. He mentioned that the Centre has agreed to address many of their demands that can be fulfilled at the administrative level.
However, a policy guaranteeing an MSP requires a holistic approach, taking into consideration the views of all stakeholders, including State Governments, the minister said. “We need to examine how to formulate a law on MSP and what are the benefits and drawbacks of such a law,” Munda said. The meeting began at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26 around 6:30 pm on Monday and concluded just before midnight.
Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said the government proposed the formation of a committee to address issues related to legal guarantees for MSP, debt waiver, and the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations. “We will inform our farmers about what happened in the meeting,” he said.
“It is our obligation to proceed towards Delhi,” he added when asked about the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march call. In addition to a legal guarantee for MSP, farmers are also demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pensions for farmers and farm laborers, farm debt waiver, withdrawal of police cases, “justice” for victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act - 2013, withdrawal from the World Trade Organisation, and compensation for families of farmers who died during the previous agitation, among other demands.
Central Delhi has been placed under heavy security cover due to the farmers’ protest, with personnel in anti-riot gear deployed strategically and metal and concrete barricades regulating access to several key roads, causing hardship to commuters. Some entry and exit gates of select Metro stations near important installations in the area have been shut, as prohibitory orders remain in force. The historic Red Fort complex has been temporarily closed to visitors due to security reasons.
After violence erupted at the Shambu border, the Delhi Police sealed the Tikri border on Tuesday. The border was closed by blocking movement on both carriageways with five-foot-long cement blocks along with multiple layers of barricades. The Delhi Police also closed all entry and exit points of nearby streets and villages connecting the highway near Tikri Metro Station. However, metro services on the green line are still operational for commuting purposes. Special Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, Madhup Tiwari, visited the Tikri border to inspect the arrangements. “We have allowed traffic movement at the Tikri border until 3 pm. Now we have allowed emergency services like ambulances and those walking towards Delhi to take the metro. We have foolproof security arrangements,” the Special CP said.
On Tuesday, the Haryana police used drones to fire tear gas shells and monitor the protesting farmers. They prevented the mob from reaching near the barricades, pushing them back and deploying tear gas shells using drones to prevent any buildup near the barricades. The protesting farmers made repeated attempts on Tuesday to reach the barricades near the Punjab-Haryana border set up by the police. Whenever a tear gas shell fired by the police hits the ground, the protestors quickly cover it with wet jute bags to mitigate the smoke.
In Delhi, the police stated that the security arrangements are part of “Plan B” to handle any situation in case the protesting farmers, marching towards the national capital from neighboring states of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, entered the city and attempted to reach Parliament.
