“Delhi Chalo” march organised by farmers belonging to the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) was met with police crackdown at various points on the Haryana-Punjab border on Tuesday.
As the peaceful protests were brutally suppressed by measures including water cannon, lathicharge and teargas firing, it became clear that the union government is likely to stubbornly decline the key demands of the farmers.
At least 60 farmers were injured in the police attack at two border points.
In anticipation of the march, police and paramilitary forces were deployed in large numbers and the borders across the capital remained heavily barricaded with concrete slabs and barbed wires.
After the first days of protests, farmers have been again invited for a dialogue, which is expected to happen on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, farmer leaders have restarted the protest march on day two.
SKM also called for an “All India Protest” against the attack on farmers in Punjab on February 16.
All member organisations and units across the country were requested to spread the message to all villages and towns to make the “grameen bandh” and Industrial/Sectoral Strike across India even more massive and successful.
Moreover, SKM has written a letter to the Prime Minister asking him to recognise the rights of farmers to organise protests and immediately withdraw forces.
The letter further urged the authorities to resolve the farmers’ and workers’ struggle peacefully through discussions.
The opposition condemned the police action against farmers’ protest, and accused the Modi government of being at war with farmers.
“The way they have dug ditches, blocked roads with concrete boulders and heavy vehicles, it feels like we are in the midst of a war. The government is treating the farmers’ protest at par with an attack from an enemy country,” Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said at a press conference in Delhi.
