Thousands of farmers in India were finally able to enter the capital, New Delhi, for a planned protest against the new agricultural laws hours after police fired several rounds of tear gas and used water cannons to stop Dilli Chalo’s march (Ir to Delhi).
The protesting Indian farmers clashed with police on Friday during the march to the capital, against new laws, which will make it easier for farmers to sell their produce directly to private buyers and sign a contract with private companies.
But farmers are demanding that the bills, passed by India’s parliament in September, be scrapped for fear the laws will leave them vulnerable to large corporations.
A Delhi police spokesman confirmed to Al Jazeera that the farmers had received permission to enter the national capital and hold a peaceful protest at Nirankari Samagam Ground in the Burari area.
“Farmers have been granted permission to enter Delhi. They can protest peacefully on land in the Burari area, ”Anil Mittal, Additional PRO (Delhi Police) told Al Jazeera.
However, farmers from various states and unions, who wanted to organize a protest in the Ramlila field in the heart of the city, have not yet commented on whether they would accept the new headquarters.
Television images showed plumes of smoke and some people threw stones at the police as thousands of people pressed against the barricades, waving flags and sticks. Some rode tractors near the barriers.
‘We will get to Delhi no matter what happens’
Earlier, peasant leader Sukhdev Singh told Al Jazeera by phone from Narwana, Haryana, that they would keep marching towards the national capital no matter what.
“If the government thinks that it is going to stop us using force or blocking the roads, that is not going to happen. We will get to Delhi no matter how long it takes, ”he said.
“This government doesn’t care about the farmers. He’s trying to destroy us and help big corporations. “
“We don’t want to clog the roads. We just want to march towards Delhi, but it is the government that is resorting to violence and blocking roads and causing inconvenience to the people.
Flames emerge from tear gas released by police to prevent farmers from entering New Delhi [Danish Siddiqui/Reuters]
Another protesting farmer, Sukrampal Dhayana, said the police tried to stop them with force, barricades and water cannons, but the farmers have “decided to stay the course to make sure the government hears the voice of millions of farmers.”
Suburban train services to New Delhi were suspended, Delhi Metro said in a post on Twitter, in an attempt to prevent protesters from riding the trains.
Senior journalist P Sainath criticized the government’s decision to use security forces against farmers.
“It is barbarism. Using the border security force against their own people, ”said Sainath, founding editor of the People’s Archive of Rural India, an online portal that focuses on rural issues.
The clashes come a day after police in New Delhi’s neighboring Haryana state, ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), used tear gas and water cannons to disperse farmers who they were trying to march towards the capital.
The farmers, most of them from the northern state of Punjab, were able to break through the police blockade and marched towards the New Delhi border on Thursday, but are not allowed to cross into the capital.
Extraordinary scenes
Al Jazeera’s Elizabeth Puranam, reporting from New Delhi, said police are citing the record number of coronavirus cases by not giving permission to protest organizers, but that hasn’t stopped thousands of farmers from neighboring states from trying to reach Delhi. for the second day. .
“Today we have seen more extraordinary photos of farmers using tractors to remove trucks, which the police use as barricades.
“They are determined because they want the government to repeal the laws that, according to them, eliminate the guarantees of their products and leave them at the mercy of private investors. This is a big problem in India. “
Previously, city authorities rejected a request from police to use stadiums as temporary prisons, according to local media.
People walk away from tear gas released by police at Singhu border [Danish Siddiqui/Reuters]
Under the laws that Modi called a milestone for agriculture, farmers are free to sell their products anywhere, even to large corporate buyers, rather than in government-regulated wholesale markets where farmers are assured of a Minimum Price. Sustento (MSP), the price at which the government buys agricultural products.
The laws also allow farmers to sign contracts with private companies in a step the government hopes will bring private sector investment into the sector it has struggled for years.
BREAK- Tear gas projectiles fired at farmers on the Delhi-Haryana Singhu border.
I’ve seen at least 8 rounds of tear gas projectiles fired.
The police have moved to push back the farmers. #FarmersProtest #Clock # दिल्ली_चलो pic.twitter.com/hRt1iTytxM
– Zeba Warsi (@Zebaism) November 27, 2020
Many farmers’ organizations and unions oppose the new law, saying it would leave small farmers with little bargaining power. They also say they fear the government will eventually withdraw price support (MSP) for wheat and rice.
The government says there are no plans to eliminate wholesale markets.
Agriculture accounts for about 15 percent of India’s GDP, but employs almost 60 percent of its population.
‘I ran the farm bills’
The government says the new laws are aimed at making the vast agricultural sector more efficient by freeing up farmers who want to sell directly to large retailers like Walmart.
Critics, however, say the changes will end the purchase of grain at prices guaranteed by the government and leave farmers vulnerable to the market.
“They rushed to review the agricultural and labor bills. There was absolutely no reason to focus on agricultural and labor laws at this time when there was a pandemic, ”Sainath told Al Jazeera.
“They [government] did it because they thought it was time to do it and these people [farmers] They can’t organize and protest and that’s how they pushed them through parliament. “
The ruling BJP party has accused the opposition Congress party, which governs the state of Punjab, of deceiving farmers.
“The opposition parties, particularly the Congress party, are misleading farmers about the laws. They are saying that the MSP will be abolished, which is not true, the MSP already exists even after the parliament passed the legislation, ”Syed Zafar Islam, BJP spokesperson, told Al Jazeera on Thursday.
“We trust the farmers before passing the laws.”
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told ANI, a Reuters affiliate, that he had already invited agricultural leaders to the talks next week.
Farmers in various regions of India, particularly in the states of Punjab and Maharashtra, have faced a crisis in recent decades with a cycle of drought, failed harvests and indebtedness.
In 2019 alone, 10,281 farmers and farm workers committed suicide, according to government data.
The police have asked the Delhi government for permission to use the stadiums as temporary prisons as it appears to thwart the farmers’ march. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
Additional reporting by Bilal Kuchay from New Delhi
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