They will not use tractors, they will walk to Delhi: farm leaders

Days before their march to the national capital on December 6, farmers’ leaders under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) announced that they would not use tractor-trailers to go to Delhi.

Farmers’ unions said they were accused of using tractors to break barricades and indulge in violence, so they decided to go to the national capital to press for their demands on foot.

KMM convener Sarwan Singh Pandher said, “This time, we will not go on tractor-trailers. The Haryana and Union governments should allow us to go to Delhi. We will march peacefully and if the government is still using tear gas and pellet guns, then they remain exposed.”

The Haryana government has repeatedly reiterated that it will not allow farmers to ride on tractor trailers.

“Farmers will march towards the national capital in groups led by union leaders,” he added.

The protesting farmers have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border posts between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 when their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march, led by SKM (Non-Political) and KMM, was stopped by security forces.

Farmers are agitating on a host of demands including legal guarantee of MSP for their produce, implementation of Swaminathan Commission formula, complete debt relief for farmers, pension for farmers and laborers and withdrawal of cases against farmers during the 2020 protest -21.

Pandher said they are open to talks with the Union government if invited. “We want to solve the problems through dialogue. But the government seems to be in no mood to hold talks,” said Pandher.

The last meeting between the Union government and the farmers’ unions was held on February 18 this year.

Elaborating on their plan to move to Delhi, Tejveer Singh, spokesperson of BKU Shaheed Bhagat Singh, said the first group of around 50 farmers would be led by leaders Satnam Singh Pannu and Surinder Singh Chautala. He added that the second group would be led by farmer leader Surjit Singh Phul.

Meanwhile, the five-member high-powered committee appointed by the Supreme Court to address agrarian issues affecting farmers and farm laborers is learned to have completed its report.

The apex court had constituted the committee on September 2 to address various demands of the protesting farmers since February, including a statutory guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

The committee, headed by a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, has already met various farm unions and agriculture experts before finalizing the issues, people familiar with the development said.

The committee has already engaged with the SKM (Non-Political), which submitted a letter of demands to the committee last month, while the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) has refused to hold talks with the panel.