The ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest march by farmers will be suspended for two days, a farmer leader announced at a press conference on Wednesday.
New Delhi: A farmer leader on Wednesday announced that the ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest march by farmers will be suspended for two days. While addressing a press conference, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher, head of Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, “We will have discussions over the incident that took place in Khanauri. There will be a two-day stay on our march towards Delhi. We will clarify the entire situation later as to what our further movement will be.”
#WATCH | Shambhu border: Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher says, “…We will have discussions over the incident that took place in Khanauri. There will be a two-day stay on our march towards Delhi. We will clarify the entire situation later as to what our further movement will… pic.twitter.com/Wb3XnftBtH
— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2024
On Wednesday, the Punjab farmers at Khanauri and Shambhu resumed their agitation early in the morning after a two-day lull following the fourth round of talks on Sunday night with a panel of three Union ministers in an attempt to break the deadlock.
Police fired tear gas shells at the two border points multiple times to disperse groups of protesters when they attempted to move towards the layers of barricades stalling their march to the national capital.
Earlier in the day, Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, who is among the Union ministers engaging with the farmer leaders, called for further talks and appealed to the protesters to maintain peace.
Thousands of farmers remain camped at Khanauri and Shambhu with their tractor-trolleys and trucks agitating for their demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops and farm debt waiver.
Farmer leader Baldev Singh Sirsa identified the dead farmer as Subhkaran Singh (21), a resident of Baloke village in Punjab’s Bathinda district.
Patiala-based Rajindra Hospital’s medical superintendent H S Rekhi told reporters that three people, one of them dead, were brought to the hospital from Khanauri. The deceased had an injury to his head and the other two are stable, Rekhi said.
A Haryana Police officer said around 12 police personnel were injured when they were attacked with lathis and stones thrown at them in Khanauri, located in Punjab’s Sangrur district, close to the border with Haryana’s Jind.
Talking to reporters at Shambhu, Pandher said farmers will review the situation that developed at Khanauri. “We will discuss the whole issue and the next decision will be announced on Friday evening,” he said.
The farmers claimed that Haryana Police personnel fired rubber bullets, besides tear gas shells.
Heavy earthmoving equipment, including excavators, and modified tractors were seen at the protest sites, and police had cautioned that these might be used to break barricades and cause harm to security personnel.