Police have arrested thousands of farmers as they tried to march towards the Indian capital as part of their Dilli chalo (Go to Delhi) protest against the new legislation passed by the right-wing government which they say will reduce their profits and benefit large corporations.
Police in the neighboring New Delhi state of Haryana, ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), used tear gas and water cannons to disperse farmers trying to march to New Delhi on foot, in buses. and tractors, NDTV news channel. reported.
At one site, farmers retaliated by throwing bricks and breaking down barricades.
After a two-hour standoff, the police finally allowed the protesters to continue towards the capital.
The borders of the national capital have been sealed and metro services in several areas closed with police saying that no demonstrations were allowed in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Police block a road and use a water cannon to disperse farmers [AFP]
“If the government doesn’t want farmers to protest in the midst of the corona pandemic, why can’t the government say it will postpone the laws for six months or until the pandemic is over? .
“We will not cancel our protest unless the government removes these laws against farmers.”
The bills, passed by India’s parliament in September, make it easier for farmers to sell their produce directly to private buyers and to enter into contracts with private companies. The government hopes that private sector investments will stimulate growth.
Farmers vulnerable to the market
Critics, however, say the changes will end the purchase of grain at prices guaranteed by the government and leave farmers vulnerable to the market.
Darshan Pal, of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) and Punjab President of the Krantikari Kisan Union, said farmers have gathered on the Haryana-Punjab border, but police used barricades and prevented them from marching. towards New Delhi.
Police are deployed on the border between Haryana and New Delhi to prevent protesting farmers from marching towards the capital New Delhi. [Manish Swarup/AP Photo]
Pal said 300,000 farmers are expected to arrive in New Delhi by tractors, buses and on foot after leaving Punjab state. However, Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify the numbers.
“They [government] In fact, they opened up markets, opened up land, and opened up farmers’ produce for large corporations. They will form the mandis (agricultural markets), they will do contract farming and control agribusiness.
“Our basic demand is to eliminate all these anti-farm laws and ensure the Minimum Support Price (MSP) [the price at which the government buys farm produce] recommended for all crops and guaranteed commercialization guarantee for all crops ”.
Sukhdev Singh, Punjab general secretary of the Bhartiya Kisan Ekta Union, accused the government of passing the laws “for the benefit of big business”.
“The government did not consider it worthy or important for us to embark before introducing these black laws,” he told Al Jazeera.
Farmers have been protesting the new laws since September, especially in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, known as the grain bowls of India.
Farmers gather on a bridge as police block a road during a march to New Delhi. The police finally allowed the protesters to continue towards the capital. [AFP]
“We have seen police use water cannons and tear gas against farmers, but farmers, undeterred, have launched police barricades on rivers,” said Elizabeth Puranam of Al Jazeera, reporting from New Delhi.
“Farmers’ organizations have been joined by others such as unions both here in New Delhi and in other states such as Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala. [They say] that the BJP government and its policies are against farmers and against workers.
“This is a big problem in India because around half of the 1.3 billion people work in the agricultural sector. It is a sector that has been in crisis for decades for various reasons, including a high level of indebtedness, “said Puranam.
‘Deceive the farmers’
The Al Jazeera correspondent said many people agree that the agricultural sector needs reform, but say that the laws passed by the Indian government leave farmers at the mercy of private investors.
Critics, however, say the changes will end the purchase of grain at prices guaranteed by the government and leave farmers vulnerable to the market. [File: Narinder Nanu/AFP]
“These laws relax the rules of sale, prices and storage, laws that had protected Indian farmers from the market for decades. This is what worries farmers, even though the government says some minimum support price for produce will be maintained. The farmers say that there will be no more guarantees of this, ”he said.
Groups of farmers from five states, including the AIKSCC, had called for the march.
A large deployment of police and paramilitaries was observed at all entry points to New Delhi. Vehicles were being searched and those with farmers being asked to return.
Punjab’s chief minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, condemned the Haryana government for trying to prevent the farmers from marching by force. The local government of Delhi has also condemned the police action against the farmers.
The Hindu nationalist BJP, who also rules Haryana, says the laws will free farmers from the traditional middlemen who dominate the trade.
The party accused the opposition congressional 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, ”BJP spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam told Al Jazeera.
“There is no such thing that we have not trusted them. We trust farmers before passing laws.
“No one can take an inch of your land. Farmers are afraid that the corporations will take away their land, but nothing will happen. “
Bilal Kuchay contributed to the report from New Delhi.
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