Farmer's Protest Highlights: Haryana agri minister accepts memorandum of demands; will arrange meeting with Chouhan

Union Minister Chirag Paswan doubled down on the Opposition on the accusation that the Centre don't hold dialogues, and said, “But where are they when a dialogue is actually initiated?... Frankly, I feel that trying to say anything to the opposition is like playing the flute before a buffalo. They are simply unwilling to listen.”

On the farmers' protest march to Delhi, Congress MP Kumari Selja said, “We have been witnessing this for years. Look at how this government has treated farmers, at times calling them traitors, and at other times making all sorts of allegations against them.”

“The farmers sat in protest for a year, while the government merely created the impression that it was holding talks with them. Promises were made regarding MSP (Minimum Support Price) through a committee, but have you heard anything about it since? The truth is that neither the farmers, nor the students, nor the people of this country believe the government anymore.”

Reacting to the detention of four Haryana farmers by the Delhi Police at the Singhu border, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said, “This is plainly the BJP government pushing people around. If farmers want to come to Delhi for a one-day protest, why are they not being allowed to enter?”

“When you don't listen to farmers, when you don't let them protest or enter Delhi, and they are stopped at the Haryana border, they are bound to get angry. And when they do, you label them terrorists, just as you did before,” he added.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said Haryana's Agriculture Minister accepted their memorandum of demands. “When we asked him to arrange a meeting with Union Minister Shivraj Chouhan, he said he would make the necessary arrangements.”

Pandher said the minister has assured the farmers that his office would send us a letter within 8 to 10 days confirming the meeting. “The dialogue will move forward from there; the outcome of the meeting is a matter for later.”

On Punjab farmers' protest, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said, "This government is anti-farmer. This government is anti-student. It is acting solely for its own self-interest, for political gain. It cares neither for the farmers nor for the youth. But when the farmers, especially those from Punjab, arrive in Delhi, this government will be forced to flee Parliament..."

"Rahul Gandhi had warned early on that this deal would ruin the farmers. This government is completely compromised; they simply agree with whatever US President Trump says. There must be some weakness on their part for them to be so submissive...," on Punjab farmers' protest, Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel told ANI.

Hundreds of Punjab farmers on their way to Delhi to take part in the Kisan Mahapanchayat to protest against the proposed India-US trade deal were stopped at the Shambhu border on Tuesday as Haryana Police erected barricades and placed cement blocks at the entry point to the neighbouring state.

Authorities in Ambala have also clamped prohibitory orders in the district.

A farmer said, "We were going to Delhi, but the Karnal SP stopped us and said they would not allow us to proceed. They are not allowing our vehicles to pass. Earlier, we used to go by tractors, but now they are not allowing tractors either. We tried going by cars, but they are not allowing cars as well. So, we will walk on foot and reach there. We will reach by tomorrow," IANS reported.

Ambala Traffic Police issued a travel advisory amid Shambhu Border closure, urging commuters use alternative routes connecting Delhi with Punjab.

As per the advisory, motorists travelling to Punjab from Delhi can take the Ambala Cantt-Chandigarh route, followed by Lalru, Dera Bassi and Zirakpur before entering Punjab. Vehicles can also use alternative routes to reach Punjab from Lalru or Dera Bassi.

For vehicles heading to Delhi from Punjab must take the Rajpura-Lalru-Dera Bassi-Zirakpur-Ambala Cantt route before proceeding towards Delhi. Commuters can also use alternative routes to travel to Delhi from Ambala Cantt via Rajpura, Lalru or Dera Bassi.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher pressed for dialogue with the government as he insisted on a peaceful demonstration at Kishan Ghat today. “We don't have plans to break barricades nor create any conflict; we want arrested farmers, including Gurnam Singh Chaduni be released and the government to hold dialogue with us,” PTI quoted Sarwan Singh Pandher as saying.

A day after suppression of CJP protest march to the Parliament through force, Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal emphasized that the government should meet with the farmers, reassure them and engage in dialogue

“I am talking about this trade deal from past two sessions. We are not being informed anything about it. We got to know about it from White House press release. The doubt is going on from past 10 months," PTI quoted the SAD MP as saying.

She said the government should "not stop them at the border, use batons and tear gas against them, and force them to retreat."

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said, “We are being stopped at Shambhu border, we will talk to the administration about it and give an update”, PTI reported.

Punjab Police on Tuesday sealed the Shambhu Border after a large number of farmers gathered at the Punjab-Haryana border ahead of their scheduled march to Delhi to participate in the proposed 'Desh Bachao Morcha' Mahapanchayat against the proposed India-US trade deal. (ANI)

Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarwan Singh Pandher claimed that the proposed agreement will not be limited to a few commodities but may encompass agriculture, dairy, industry, digital trade, e-commerce, government procurement, intellectual property rights and the services sector, PTI reported.

Haryana Traffic Police issued a travel advisory urging commuters to take the Ambala Cantonment-Chandigarh-Lalru-Dera Bassi-Zirakpur route to go to Punjab. Those heading to Delhi from Punjab can take the Rajpura-Lalru-Dera Bassi-Zirakpur-Ambala Cantonment route, the advisory said.

The farmers' convoy enroute Delhi departed from Gurdwara Sri Fatehgarh Sahib on Tuesday morning after spending a night at the sarai (pilgrims' inn) of the gurdwara. Before proceeding towards Shambhu, they crossed Madhopur, near Sirhind on the GT Road, PTI reported. However, on reaching Shambhu border, they encountered yet another hurdle as Haryana Police erected barricades and placed cement blocks at the border point. To stop the farmers, the bridge over the Ghaggar river was fenced besides heavy police deployment.

Moreover, farmers claimed that they were stopped near Jyotisar in Haryana's Kurukshetra,