Why did farmers start protesting in Delhi again?
On Monday (August 22), as thousands of farmers tried to reach Jantar Mantar in the heart of the capital, Delhi police said several border crossings including Tikri, Singhu and Gazipur were closed, Commuters were advised to stay away. Police expected more than 5,000 farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, to be heading to Delhi. In the afternoon, farmers’ leaders claimed that vehicles carrying protesters were blocked from entering the city. However, police said they were evicted after conducting “proper checks”.
Nine months after forcing the federal government to withdraw three farm bills, why are farmers protesting again? Farmers in need have, among other things, a legal Minimum Support Price (MSP) guarantee, the dismissal of Home Minister Ajay Mishra Teni, and the release of imprisoned farmers.
MSP: The Centre announces MSPs for 23 crops, including seven kinds of cereal (paddy, wheat, maize, bajra, jowar, ragi and barley), five pulses (chana, tur/arhar, moong, urad and Masur), seven oilseeds (mustard-rapeseed, groundnut, soya bean, sunflower, sesamum, safflower and nigerseed) and four commercial crops (sugarcane, cotton, copra and raw jute).
Farmers can’t demand MSP as a matter of right since it is just an indicative price without any statutory backing. Most of the crops grown throughout much of India are sold at prices that are significantly below official minimum support prices (MSPs), especially during harvest season.
As part of their demands, the farmers demand that the Modi government enact legislation granting mandatory status to MSP, rather than allowing it to remain a merely indicative or desired price until November 2021. In spite of the Prime Minister’s announcement that the three farm laws would be withdrawn on November 19, 2021, the government has resisted the calls to make MSP a legal right.
According to the government, it had not provided any assurance on this front to protesting farmers in response to a question in Parliament last month.
The commission’s mandate, set up by the USDA in July as a follow-up to the prime minister’s November 2021 announcement, makes no mention of legal guarantees for MSPs, making them “more effective and transparent.”
On October 3, last October, a convoy of three SUVs, including the Mahindra Thar, owned by the federal minister, in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, returned after protests by farmers. Crashed into the group, killing four farmers and one journalist.
The ensuing violence killed Tal’s driver and two of his local BJP leaders. Minister Teni’s son, Ashish Mishra, aka Monu, was arrested on October 11 last year after allegations that he was at the scene. This year, on January 3, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) filed an indictment against 14 of his people, including Ashish Mishra. Ashish was released on bail in February.
Farmers have long demanded that Teni be removed from the federal ministry. Farmers also want the release of four of his colleagues arrested in connection with the violence in Rakinpur Keri. Delhi Police arrested a protesting farmer in Gazipur near the border of Delhi and his UP.
Peasants were called ‘Mahapanchayat’ in Jantar Mantar, the capital, and many peasants came to this city. Police have stepped up security, erected barricades and manned the Delhi-Haryana border.
A 3km traffic jam occurred at the border between Delhi and Gazipur near the capital as commuters on their way to Delhi got stuck due to roadblocks. Security was also increased at Delhi’s New Lakes border and the Tikri border, where farmers arrive from outside Delhi.
Section 144 was imposed in the New Delhi area during heavy security in Jantar Mantar. In many places, concrete slabs were placed in the streets to block the peasants. Mahapanchayat was called upon by the farmers to demand justice for the families of the victims of Rakinpur Keri and the release of the farmers from prison.
Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Apolitical) called for a ‘Mahapanchayat’ involving farmers from different states at Jantar Mantar, Delhi on Monday. However, Delhi police said they refused permission to protest. Mahapanchayat was called upon by the farmers to demand justice for the families of the victims of Rakinpur Keri and the release of the farmers from prison.
Delhi police stepped up security at the capital’s New Lake border before calling farmers to protest against Jantar Mantar. Delhi Police have high-security measures in place to prevent unwanted incidents. All persons and vehicles are thoroughly checked at the New Lake border.
The Delhi Police said the gathering of farmers could cause traffic problems and unwanted incidents across the capital. Therefore, security measures have been taken. A large number of police officers were stationed throughout the provincial capital, mainly near the border. Apart from that, the Delhi Police have set up additional barricades at all borders.
RAKESH TIKAIT OBSERVED
Earlier on Sunday, peasant leader Rakesh Tikait was arrested by Delhi police near the Gazipur border while trying to enter the capital to attend a protest at Jantar Mantar. Several peasant leaders and organizations gathered in Jantar his Mantar for the “Rozgar Sansad” (Employment Council) organized by Samyukt Rojgar Andolan Samiti (SRAS). He claimed that the Delhi police were working at the centre’s request and did not allow him to see the unemployed youth.
A Delhi police official said Tikait, a national spokesman for the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) and a prominent face of the Samuikt Kisan Morcha (SKM), was stopped at the border around mid-afternoon. “He was then arrested and taken to the Madhu Vihar police station, where the police spoke to him and asked him to come back,” said a special commissioner from the police (law and order). said Dependra Pathak. Jantar Mantar in Delhi today is under heavy police security to avoid any unwanted incidents. It has been reported that some farmers have been arrested by the police.
10 big developments at Delhi’s farmers’ protest
- ‘Mahapanchayat’ has been called out by several farmers’ organizations, including the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), over rising unemployment in the country. Some farmers were seen toppling barricades put up by the police and holding slogans at the Jantar Mantar.
- Additional forces have been deployed at border crossings such as Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur. The ANI news agency reported that some farmers were arrested at his Ghazipur border and taken away by bus.
- Massive deployments were also seen around railroad tracks, bus terminals and subway stations. Traffic jams occurred in parts of the capital as police-controlled vehicles entered Delhi.
- These farmers’ organizations are calling for the proper implementation of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops. They also demanded the withdrawal of a registered lawsuit against the farmer during years of protesting the Farm Act.
- Last week, Samyukt Kisan Morcha organized a demonstration in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, to “seek justice” in cases of violence in 2021. Eight of him, including four farmers, were reportedly run over by Ashish, the son of trade union minister Ajay Mishra, in Lakhimpur Kheri last October.
- On Sunday, peasant leader Rakesh Tikait was arrested by police at the Gazipur border as he tried to enter the capital to attend Mahapanchayat.
- “This fight lasts till my last breath. I will not stop, I will not tire, I will not bow my head,” Rakesh Tikait tweeted in Hindi after being released and sent back. Claimed to work for the centre.
- Farmer leaders said they would meet with SKM officials in Delhi on 6 September and “plan their future course of action”.
- Previously, he had thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan set up camp at border crossings around Delhi, and the centre’s repeal of his three farmer laws was nearly over. I’ve been requesting it for a year.
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The controversial Agriculture Bill was withdrawn in November 2021 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said the government had failed to convince protesting farmers of the benefits of the reform.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
