Farmers Movement Archive

Blockade at Delhi borders: Farmer unions to be made party in SC case

The central government will move an application in the Supreme Court (SC) to implead the farmer unions steering the protest over the enactment of three central agri-marketing laws and squatting at the doorstep of the national capital.Hearing a petition which sought unblocking of the highways leading to the Delhi, the apex court had on August 23 said that the central, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments should coordinate to ensure that inter-state roads and national highways do not remain blocked due to the farmers’ protest.The protesting farmers, on September 19, had stayed away from holding talks with a Haryana government committee set-up to impress upon them to clear the blockade at the Kundli-Singhu and Tikri borders.Bhog Singh Mansa, a farm leader, had said that the SC did not give directions to the farmers and they were not a party to the court case. The apex court had only directed the Centre and states to give passage to the common man,” he said.An apex court bench headed by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul on Thursday ordered that the matter be listed for October 4 as solicitor general Tushar Mehta has made a request to enable him to move an appropriate application to implead some parties.Following the August 23 observations of the apex court, the Sonepat deputy commissioner had held a meeting with the farmers’ representatives.Later, a committee headed by additional chief secretary (ACS), home, Rajeev Arora had invited office-bearers of 43 farm organisations to attend the meeting on September 19. However, no headway was made as the farmers failed to turn up for the meeting.The apex court, on a petition filed by a Noida-based woman, Monicca Agarwaal, had said that the solution lay in hands of central and state governments concerned. The bench said they should coordinate to ensure that if the protests are on, at least the inter-state roads and national highways are not blocked in any manner whatsoever so that to and fro on those roads does not cause inconvenience to other people who use the roads.Agarwaal had petitioned the apex court contending that though she stays and works in Noida, she has to travel to Delhi as she is in a marketing job. Aggarwal told the court that she is a single parent and has some medical issues. It has become a nightmare to travel to Delhi where it is taking two hours instead of normal 20 minutes, she had said.She had contended that despite directions passed by the apex court to keep the to and fro passage clear, the same still does not happen.Meanwhile, a delegation of over 20 villages around the Singhu and Tikri borders on Thursday met Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar to apprise him of the problems faced by them due to closed border roads.An official spokesperson said Khattar told them that the government is making every possible effort to reopen the borders. “The villagers told the CM that there is resentment among people of the area over the blockade. The business has suffered, patients requiring emergent medical attention have died, kids have been unable to attend school and there have been frequent brawls,” the spokesperson said. The CM said the state government intended to open the roads by maintaining peace.

Hindustan Times

01-10-2021

Chandigarh