Farmers Movement Archive

7 months on, protesting farmers again break barricades, face water cannons

BATHINDA: Seven months ago Chandigarh administration tried to stop farmers from heading towards state capital to handover memorandum to governor at Raj Bhawan, but farmers broke open the barricades at Mohali-Chandigarh border to enter Chandigarh. The similar scenes of November 26, 2020 came to fore when farmers braved water canons at Mohali-Chandigarh border on June 26 too and broke open the barricades using the might of tractors. This time the difference being, the farmers restrained it to some extent and tried to avoid direct confrontation and police too adopted some restraint. Earlier on November 26, 2020 when farmers had started their arduous journey towards national capital to hold protests against farm laws at bigger level were stopped at many places, but they had reached the borders of Delhi by breaking open the barricades and digging up roads. Farmers were to reach Raj Bhawans of Punjab and Haryana to handover memorandums addressed to the President of India, and though Punjab farmers succeeded in reaching near the Raj Bhawan, the farmers from Haryana preferred to handover memorandum at Haryana-Chandigarh border by cutting short the journey. The sources said seeing the farmers breaking barricades after facing water canons, the senior leaders had started feeling uneasy, as they did not want repetition of previous incident and asked farmers to restrain. The senior farmer leaders wanted to avoid any unsavoury incidents and going by it Haryana leaders preferred to curtail protest not going in for direct confrontation, added sources. The farmers in large numbers had assembled at Gurdwara Amd Sahib in Mohali and Nada Sahib in Panchkula on a call given by Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) save democracy’ on completion of seven months into protests and 46 years of promulgation of Emergency. “The situation is similar to 1975 now as the present regime has put an undeclared emergency in place when right to expression is in danger and the dissenting voices are termed as anti-national. The Narendra Modi government is not ready to listen to the pains of the farmers who are sitting at the borders for seven months and the government is branding them as separatists, anti nationals and urban naxals. Despite all this, farmers will not sit back till their demand of repeal of three laws, enacting law on MSP are not met,” said senior farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal.

The Times of India

2021-06-27

Chandigarh