Farmers Delhi Chalo Protest: Lok Sabha Elections There is not much time left for the announcement and amidst the intensifying election activities, farmers are on the streets with their demands. The movement of farmers sitting on the border of Punjab and Haryana is increasing with each passing day. On Thursday (February 15), trains were stopped in 16 different areas in Punjab. Thousands of farmers sat on the tracks and blocked the tracks. A lot of efforts were made to convince the farmers, but they did not agree.
The rail roko movement of farmers started at 12 noon and continued till 4 pm. During this time the farmers remained sitting on the tracks. Due to which Railways and common people had to bear the loss.
According to the information, due to the farmers’ movement, 7 trains were cancelled, apart from these, 13 trains were short terminated i.e. stopped before the destination and the route of 12 trains was changed. Goods trains going to Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir were also affected.
The loss figure of Railways is estimated to be in crores. Due to stopping of trains, it became difficult for common people to reach their destination. ABP News correspondent talked to some people. The farmer leaders, on whose orders the trains were stopped in Punjab, are trying to justify their action. He says that the Haryana government is oppressing the farmers. The response has been given by stopping the train.
Farmers are gathered at Shambhu border of Haryana
Groups of farmers also opened toll gates in cities like Barnala, Ludhiana and Patiala on Thursday. It is believed that this also caused a huge loss of revenue. The farmers of Punjab who had set out to march to Delhi may not have been able to enter Haryana till now, but they are stuck at the Shambhu border of Haryana and are not ready to move from there.
The farmers are not ready to step back and the way they have come out this time with 6 months’ worth of ration, it seems that the matter is not going to be resolved soon. The support base of farmers also seems to be increasing. With this the scope of the movement can become larger.
These organizations are agitating
This time the movement started from Punjab. Two organizations took command of it. One of these is Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, whose convener is Sarwan Singh Pandher. The second is the United Kisan Morcha (non-political), whose president is Jagjit Dallewal. Farmers associated with these organizations had given the slogan of march to Delhi. Now Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) and Chaduni faction of Bharatiya Kisan Union have also supported it.
Chaduni faction of Bharatiya Kisan Union said a big thing on Thursday in support of the farmers of Punjab. Organization President Gurnam Singh Chaduni announced a three-day action plan, which includes plans ranging from tractor parade to making roads toll free in Haryana.
What did Gurnam Singh Chaduni say?
Gurnam Singh Chaduni said, “Three decisions were taken, the first is that we will keep Haryana toll free for 3 hours tomorrow, from 12 noon to 3 pm. There will be a tractor parade in every tehsil the day after tomorrow from 12 noon. There will be a joint meeting of all farmers and labor organizations on 18 February. Further decisions will be taken in the same meeting.
Gurnam Singh Chaduni is considered to have an impact on the farmers of Haryana and Punjab. His words cannot be ignored, hence the government is also ready.
Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar said this
On the other hand, on Thursday, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar appeared quite angry with the methods of the farmers. The Chief Minister said that such an environment is being created as the army attacks. He questioned the intentions of the farmers and objected to their methods. CM said that talks should be held in a democratic manner.
It is being said from the government side that the issue can be resolved only through talks. Talks are also taking place but the matter is far from clear. That is why it is feared that this time the farmers’ movement will also follow the path of the previous movement? It is a bit early to answer this question but people are facing the same problems as they faced three years ago.
People passing through Delhi border are facing problems
Singhu border has been further strengthened. Earlier the path was open for pedestrians, now that too has been closed, hence those going from Delhi to Haryana or from Haryana to Delhi for jobs are facing a lot of problems.
Similar is the condition of other borders of Delhi also. To prevent farmers from entering Delhi, security forces have built fortifications on the border. Farmers are still away from the border of Delhi but barricading has increased the problems of common people. Every day lakhs of people go from Delhi to other states for livelihood, and are facing a lot of problems due to the roads being sealed.
Same situation exists on the borders of Punjab and Rajasthan.
This problem is not only on the Delhi border, the situation is similar on the borders of Punjab and Rajasthan. The Punjab-Rajasthan border adjacent to Fazilka district has also been closed. Here the Rajasthan government has deployed police force by putting up barricades. Even the ambulance is not getting entry. People are crossing the barricades on foot.
When will the problems faced by the people due to the farmers’ movement end, it will be decided by the outcome of the talks between the government and the farmers. Well, there is a question which might be arising in your mind that why does the government not accept the legal demand on MSP? Understand the answer from data
- The government still buys grains at the minimum support price i.e. MSP. In 2022-23, the government spent an amount of Rs 2.28 lakh crore on this.
- If a law is made to guarantee MSP as per the demand of farmers, then the government may have to spend Rs 17 lakh crore on this. Which will be about fourteen and a half lakh crore more than before.
- The total budget of the country for 2024-25 has been set at Rs 47 lakh crore.
- If MSP guarantee law is made then 36 percent of the total budget will be spent on this.
The government is not ready to bear such a burden on the treasury. When Congress was in power, it had also refused to make MSP guarantee law, but now it is pressurizing the Modi government to fulfill the demands of the farmers and the answer is being given by BJP.
Attack and counterattack between Congress and BJP
Congress leader Digvijay Singh said, “Our direct allegation is that the central government lied to the farmers on the issue of minimum support price and broke their promises, for which the Prime Minister Narendra Modi Should apologize to the country. Union Minister Anurag Thakur hit back, “He was in power for 10 years but he did nothing for the farmers.”