Delhi Chalo | Farmers injured, foot march suspended for the day

Protesting farmers on Sunday afternoon (December 8) suspended their foot march to Delhi for the day after some of them suffered injuries in tear gas shelling by Haryana security personnel here along the state's border with Punjab.

Farmer leader from Punjab Sarwan Singh Pandher said at least eight farmers were injured and one of them was rushed to the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh.

"We have called back the 'jatha' (group of 101 farmers)," he told reporters in Shambhu.

Farmers to decide next course of action

Pandher said the farmers would decide their next course of action after a meeting of their forums – the Samyuka Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha.

The 'jatha' resumed its foot march from the farmers' Shambhu protest site earlier in the afternoon but was soon halted by multilayered barricading erected by Haryana security personnel.

Tear gas shells were lobbed at the protesting farmers and water jets were used as well to disperse them after they reached the barricades.

The Ambala police had earlier said the farmers' outfits may march to Delhi only after getting permission from the national capital administration.

The group, dubbed as 'marjeevras' (someone willing to die for a cause), was marching for a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price before being stopped only a few metres away.

Police, protesters lock horns

Earlier, protesting farmers had on Friday suspended their march to the national capital for the day after some of them suffered injuries due to tear gas shells fired by security personnel, who stopped them at the Punjab-Haryana border.

Also read: Security beefed up at Delhi's Singhu border ahead of farmers' march

“We will first identify them (farmers) and then we can allow them to go ahead. We have a list of the names of 101 farmers, and they are not those people - they are not letting us identify them - they are moving ahead as a mob,” a Haryana police official told news agency ANI.

However, the protesting farmers have hit back at the police for not letting them proceed to Delhi.

“The list they (police) have is wrong - the list doesn't have the name of farmers coming here. We have asked them (the police) to let us move ahead and we will show them our identity cards. Police are saying that we (farmers) don't have permission to move ahead - so why do we have to prove our identity? We are trying to sort things out through dialogue but anyhow we will move ahead,” said one of the farmers.

“We have already issued the list of farmers who are part of the march, if they (the police) have decided that they will check the IDs first before allowing us to move, they should tell us we will cooperate with that. We have shown the discipline and will continue to be so... They are using tear gas more today, as the wind direction is towards us. We are ready for any kind of sacrifice... It’s the PM who has the solution for our problems, either he does it or let us march to Delhi,” said farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pander. He also accused Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of having “some sort of alliance” with the Union government.Long-pending demands

The farmers have been pressing for various demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP. They have also been pressing the Centre to initiate talks with them to address their issues.

Punjab farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Saturday had said that they had not received any message from the Centre for talks to address their issues.

Farmers had earlier said that they had appealed to the government to either hold a dialogue with the protesting farmers or “allow us to move to Delhi”.Also read: Farmers' protest LIVE | March halted after two injured in police tear gas shelling

The protesting farmers had earlier attempted to march towards Delhi on February 13 and February 21 but were stopped by security forces deployed at the border points.

Besides MSP, the farmers are also demanding a farm debt waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases (against farmers), and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

Reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and compensation to the families of farmers who died during the previous agitation in 2020-21 are also part of their demands.

(With inputs from agencies)