Protest will continue till our demands are met: Farmer leader Pandher

Chandigarh: Farmers camping at the two border points of Punjab and Haryana, will continue their agitation till their demands are met, said farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Thursday.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and the Kisan Mukti Morcha are spearheading the 'Delhi Chalo' march to press the government to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP).

The protesting farmers from Punjab have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since February 13, when security forces stopped them from marching towards Delhi.

"It (our protest) will continue in a peaceful manner till our demands are met," Pandher said.

He said the protest has nothing to do with the model code of conduct which has come into force with the announcement of general elections.

We are keeping our agenda of farmers and farm labourers before the people, he said.

Meanwhile, security personnel from Haryana continued to be deployed, along with heavy barricading, at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points.

Pandher slammed the BJP government for not allowing them to head towards the national capital along with tractor-trolleys.

"Why are we not being allowed to go to Delhi in support of our demands," he asked.

As temperatures are soaring, farmers have brought fans and other items to the border points from their homes.

Pandher said several groups of farmers and farm labourers from Amritsar, Jandiala and Beas left for the border points.

Farmers began their march on February 13 but were stopped by the security forces, which led to clashes at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points on the Haryana-Punjab border.

Shubhkaran Singh (21), a farmer from Bathinda, was killed and 12 police personnel injured in clashes at Khanauri border point on the Punjab-Haryana border on February 21.

The incident took place when some protesting farmers were trying to head towards barricades and were stopped by security personnel from crossing the state border and marching to Delhi.

Previously, the farmer leaders rejected the BJP-led Centre's proposal for procuring pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP by government agencies for five years, saying it was not in favour of the farmers.

In the fourth round of talks with the farmer leaders on February 18, a panel of three Union ministers had proposed that government agencies would buy pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP for five years after entering into an agreement with farmers.

The farmers are also demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.