Farmer outfits decide to suspend 'Delhi Chalo' till Feb 29, to hold ground at borders

Farmer leaders on Friday (February 23) announced that they will decide their future course of action regarding their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on February 29. They will hold their ground at two protest sites on the Punjab-Haryana border until then.

Spearheading the protests, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) outlined a list of activities planned for the next week. They plan to take out a candle march on Saturday, which will be followed by seminars on farm-related issues on Sunday.

They will burn the effigies of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Union government on February 26. Apart from this, several meetings of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha forums are lined up apparently to devise strategy for the stir over the subsequent two days.

The protesting farmer organisations are demanding a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP), the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, and a farm loan waiver.

A protester died and a dozen police personnel were injured during clashes at Khanauri on Wednesday, prompting the farmers to defer their march for two days. Shubhkaran Singh, a 21-year-old native of Bathinda, died in the clash.

Later, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced compensation of Rs 1 crore and a government job for Singh’s sister. However, this move failed to appease the protestors, as they insisted on the registration of an FIR against those responsible for the young farmer’s death.

The farmer leaders also announced the death of another protesting farmer, 62-year-old Darshan Singh from Amargarh village in Bathinda, who died of a heart attack at the Khanauri border, marking the fourth casualty during the ongoing protests.