Farmers try to resume their march on New Delhi
Indian police fired tear gas on February 21 to scatter protesting farmers as they resumed a march to the capital, equipped with cranes and excavators after talks with the government on guaranteed prices for their produce failed to break a deadlock.
To escape the stinging gas and clouds of smoke, thousands of farmers, some wearing medical masks, ran into the fields surrounding their gathering point on a highway about 200km north of New Delhi.
The police action came as the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a fresh offer to resume talks on the farmers’ demands. Agriculture minister Arjun Munda urged the farmers to resolve their grievances through the talks.
“After the fourth round, the government is ready to discuss all the issues” such as guaranteed prices, he posted on X as the march resumed. “I again invite the farmer leaders for discussion. It is important for us to maintain peace.”
CONTRACTS
On Monday, the farmers’ groups rejected the government’s previous proposal for five-year contracts and guaranteed support prices for produce such as maize, cotton and pulses. The farmers, mostly from the northern state of Punjab, have been demanding higher prices backed by law for their crops. They form an influential bloc of voters Modi cannot afford to anger ahead of general elections due by May.
The farmers began marching from the spot where authorities had stopped them by erecting barricades on the border of Punjab state with Haryana, blocking a key highway.
“It is not right that such massive barricades have been placed to stop us,” said one of the farmers’ leaders, Jagjit Singh Dallewal.
“We want to march to Delhi peacefully. If not, they should accede to our demands.”
Police in riot gear lined both sides of the highway as the farmers, gathering earlier amid morning fog, waved colourful flags emblazoned with the symbols of their unions, while loudspeakers urged them to fight for their rights.
TRACTORS
Late on February 20, Haryana police chief ordered the immediate seizure of the heavy equipment brought by the farmers, to prevent its use by protesters in destroying barricades.
About 10,000 people had gathered on February 21, along with 1,200 tractors and wagons at Shambhu on the state border, police in Haryana posted on X, warning against the risk of stone-throwing as they were armed with sticks and stones.