Thousands of farmers will remain camped at the two border points during the pause in the agitation over their demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP for crops and farm debt waiver.
Farmer leaders said Haryana's security personnel crossed the border to Punjab and attacked them. (Sreengrab)
Farmer leaders on Wednesday, 21 February, put the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on hold for two days after a protester was killed and about 12 police personnel were injured in clashes at Khanauri, one of the two protest sites on the Punjab-Haryana border.
Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher told reporters at Shambhu that they will decide the next course of action on Friday, 23 February, evening.
Punjab farmers at Khanauri and Shambhu had resumed their agitation early on Wednesday morning after a two-day halt following the fourth round of talks on Sunday night with a panel of three Union ministers in an attempt to break the deadlock.
Thousands of farmers will remain camped at the two border points during the pause in the agitation over their demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops and farm debt waiver.
Pandher said the farmers will review the developments at Khanauri border point where the young farmer died following a clash with the Haryana security personnel.
“We will decide the next course of action after reviewing the Khanauri incident. There will be a stay on the Delhi march for two days,” he further said.
Haryana cops cross over to Punjab
On the issue of the Centre’s invitation for talks, Pandher said farmers had demanded that the meeting should be held for the resolution of the MSP issue.
Shubhakaran Singh. (X)
Pandher slammed the Centre and the Haryana security personnel for using “force” against farmers at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders.
A young farmer died while three persons were injured at Khanauri, Pandher said, while claiming that farmers did not indulge in violence.
Asked how the youth died, Pandher alleged, “He sustained a bullet injury on his head”.
Pandher said farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has gone to Khanauri to take stock of the situation. He accused the government of trying to derail their agitation.
Another farmer leader alleged that the Haryana security personnel entered their camp in Punjab territory and also used tear gas shells. Nearly 100 farmers were injured, he claimed.
Around 25 tractor-trollies, which were parked in Punjab territory, were damaged by the Haryana security personnel, the farmer leader alleged.
Farmer leaders demanded the Punjab government take notice of the Haryana security personnel entering the Punjab territory.
The dead farmer was identified as Subhkaran Singh, 21, a resident of Ballo village in Punjab’s Bathinda district.
Patiala-based Rajindra Hospital’s medical superintendent HS 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.
Govt responsible for death: SKM
Condoling the young farmer’s death, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) alleged the government was “solely responsible for the present crisis and casualty”.
The SKM said the prime minister and the executive that failed to implement the agreement signed on 9 December 2021 are solely responsible for the present crisis and the casualty. Pictured, a file photo of the 2021 agitation. (X)
The farmers’ body called a meeting of its National Coordination Committee and the General Body on Thursday 22 February to discuss the situation and take “decisive action to advance the struggle”.
“The SKM strongly protests the brutal police repression and murder of farmer Shubkaran Singh of Baloke Village, Bhatinda district, in the police firing in the Haryana-Punjab border,” the farmers’ body said in a statement.
“As per the report available around fifteen people have been seriously injured in the repression. This is a brutal assault on bread-earners from farmer families when they were protesting only for the implementation of the written promises made by the prime minister,” the SKM said in a statement.
“The prime minister and the executive that failed to implement the agreement with SKM signed on 9 December 2021 are solely responsible for the present crisis and the casualty,” they said.
On 9 December 2021, the SKM, which was spearheading farmers’ previous protest against three farm laws (now repealed), called off the agitation after getting an official proposal from the government.
The All India Kisan Sabha, which is part of the farmers’ collective SKM, also condoled the death, saying it exposes the brutality of the regime.
“AIKS calls upon all its units to rise in rage and hold protests against the barbaric violence of the BJP governments in Haryana and the Centre,” it said.
Haryana cops disturbed law and order: Mann
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said he was saddened by the death of a young farmer on the Punjab-Haryana border and asserted that stringent action would be taken against those responsible for it.
“After postmortem, a case will be registered. Those officials responsible for his death will have to face stringent action,” said Mann in a video message.
On Subhkaran’s death, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in a post on X in Hindi, wrote, “The death of Punjab’s young man Subhkaran is very sad.”
Mann said law and order is under control. However, about the Khanauri incident, he accused the Haryana Police of disturbing law and order.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, also, condemned the “killing”.
“Strongly condemn the brutal killing of a young 24-year-old Kisan protester Shubh Karan Singh by Haryana Police under BJP state govt,” Yechury said in a post on X.
“Police ordering firing against our Annadaatas is unacceptable. Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family,” he said.
Farmer leaders said this was the first death in clashes since the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march began on 13 February.
खनौरी बॉर्डर पर युवा किसान शुभकरण सिंह की फायरिंग में मौत की खबर हृदयविदारक है, मेरी संवेदनाएं उनके परिवार के साथ हैं।
पिछली बार 700 से अधिक किसानों का बलिदान लेकर ही माना था मोदी का अहंकार, अब वो फिर से उनकी जान का दुश्मन बन गया है।
मित्र मीडिया के पीछे छिपी भाजपा से एक दिन… pic.twitter.com/Gq8igo757S
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 21, 2024
‘History will not spare government’
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi said history will certainly demand an account of the farmers’ killings from the BJP.
In a post in Hindi on X, Kharge said, “When farmers’ lives will not be saved…Then, how will India remain silent?”
“The death of young farmer Shubhkaran Singh of Bathinda due to firing on the Khanauri border is very painful,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
“The Modi government has – first taken the lives of 750 farmers, the son of a minister in Modi government crushed farmers with a car in Lakhimpur, it is important to remind that in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh too, farmers had lost their lives in police firing under the BJP government.
“Modi ji himself has called farmers abusive words like ‘Andolanjeevi’ and ‘parjeevi’ (parasites) in the Parliament. The 10 years of BJP rule for farmers – is like a stick on the back and a kick in the stomach. Shame on the Modi government,” the Congress president said in the post.
In a post on X, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrogance took 700 lives of the farmers last time and it has again become the enemy of the farmers.
‘Government open to talks’
Earlier, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the Centre is ready for talks with protesting farmers “who are our brothers” and “annadaatas”.
At a cabinet briefing, Thakur said the government is committed to doubling farmers’ income and has taken several steps toward this end.
On whether the issue of farmers protesting at the Punjab-Haryana borders was discussed during the Cabinet meeting, the minister said the Centre is ready for talks.
“We were ready for talks earlier and are ready even today and will be ready to discuss their issues even in future,” he said, adding that, “we have no problem as they are our brothers and are ‘annadatas’.”
Thakur highlighted various steps taken by the Modi government to double farmers’ income and achieve higher growth in the agriculture and allied sectors.
He said the government has doubled the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and increased the procurement by more than two times.
According to him, the Modi government has spent ₹18.39 lakh crore in the last 10 years on procurement of wheat, paddy, oilseeds, and pulses as against ₹5.5 lakh crore by the UPA regime.
He also drew a comparison of the higher MSP paid to farmers during the 10 years of the NDA government together with higher procurement than during the previous 10 years of the UPA regime.
Earlier in the day, Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, while talking to PTI, had said the interest of farmers across the country should be taken into account while dealing with demands raised by the protesting farmers at the Punjab-Haryana borders, and appealed to them to come for another round of discussions.
Meanwhile, the Haryana government extended the ban on internet till Friday.
(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)
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