Thousands of farmers have been protesting since the end of November.
New Delhi:
The farmers’ protest will intensify today as they plan to block the Delhi-Jaipur highway, a day after one of the 32 protesting unions caused the Supreme Court to rule against the center’s controversial agricultural laws. Peasant leaders have rejected claims that “ultra-left” and “extremist left” elements have taken over their agitation, the biggest in recent years. Thousands of policemen are on guard at the entry points to the national capital to block the movement of the protesters.
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Two thousand policemen are on duty in Gurgaon and 3,500 policemen are on duty in Faridabad to arrest the protesters, authorities said. The two cities of Haryana share borders with Delhi.
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On Friday, the Bharatiya Kisan union filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking the repeal of the three “arbitrary” laws. The high court has already sent notifications to the center about a number of petitions challenging the laws.
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With the new legislation stalling entering week three, the ruling BJP has planned a massive campaign across the country. As part of the ruling party’s big push over the next few days, 100 press conferences and 700 farmer meetings have been planned in 700 districts, party sources said.
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On Friday, protesters rejected allegations that their agitation was influenced by the “ultra-left.” “We reject this claim from the government. No one can influence us. This is government propaganda to smear us. All decisions are made by the Samyukt Kisan Union,” said Raminder Singh Patiyal, president of one of the 32 protesting groups Kirti Kisan Sangathan, said.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke more than 25 times about farm reforms and led the government’s effort to reach out to farmers, leading sources said on Friday, challenging the perception that new farm laws at the center of the mass protests were enacted. without enough consultation.
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“PM spoke more than 25 times, more than 2.23 crore SMS were sent to farmers in October and 1.37,054 webinars were held reaching 92 lakhs of farmers and the Minister of Agriculture (Narendra Tomar) had multiple meetings, “the sources said.
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In Haryana, Senior Deputy Minister Dushyant Chautala, a BJP ally, said on Friday that he would resign from his post if he cannot secure the minimum subsistence price (MSP) guarantee for farmers. “The national president of our party has already made it clear that the MSP must be guaranteed to farmers. The written proposals delivered by the central government to protesting farmers include a provision for MSPs. I will work to secure the MSP for farmers while it is there. in power, “he was quoted by the ANI news agency.
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Earlier this week, protesters unanimously rejected the Center’s written offer for farm law amendments and announced a series of plans to intensify their protest. By December 14, there will be a large-scale protest across the country, they said.
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A meeting with Amit Shah earlier this week failed to resolve the deadlock. Following the meeting, the sixth consultation between farmers and protesters was canceled.
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Thousands of farmers have been camping on the outskirts of Delhi since late November. They say the new laws will leave them at the mercy of businesses, even as the government repeatedly claimed the laws bring much-needed reforms.
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