‘Delhi Chalo’ march: Why are farmers protesting? Explained in 5 points
Farmers' ‘Delhi Chalo’ march: Three union ministers - Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai - have called for a meeting with the farm bodies later today.
More than 200 farmers' unions, including the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have organised a ‘Delhi Chalo’ march to press the Centre to accept several demands. The farmers, who are set to hold a mega protest in the national capital on February 13, are on their way to Delhi from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. (Tune in to Farmers' Protest LIVE Updates here)
Three central ministers - food and consumer affairs minister Piyush Goyal, agriculture minister Arjun Munda and minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai - will hold a meeting with the farm bodies from Punjab and Haryana later on Monday.
Also read: Which routes to avoid ahead of farmers' protest on Tuesday? Delhi Traffic Police issues advisory | Details here
Why are farmers protesting and what are their demands?
- The farmers are holding a mega protest to make the Centre accept their list of demands.
- The farm bodies are demanding a law guaranteeing a minimum support price (MSP) - a condition they had set in 2021 when they agreed to withdraw their agitation against the now-repealed farm laws.
- The farmers are also demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pensions for farmers and farm labourers, and farm debt waiver.
- According to the farmers, the Centre should provide “justice” for victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
- In view of the farmers' protest, the Delhi police have intensified security arrangements at the Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri borders and installed nails along with barricades to prevent vehicles carrying protesters from entering the city. Along with this, cranes and earthmovers carrying large containers to block the road are also at work.
Section 144 imposed at UP borders
Amid the farmers' protest, the Delhi police on Sunday imposed section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code at the Uttar Pradesh borders to avoid any untoward incident and maintain law and order. Over 50,000 security personnel have been deployed at the borders.
Meanwhile, the internet services and bulk SMS have been suspended till February 13 in seven districts - Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa.
