Farmers Enter Delhi Breaking Police Barricades

New Delhi: Groups of protesting farmers camping at Singhu and Tikri border points of the national capital broke police barricades on Tuesday morning to force their way into the city . According to officials, security personnel tried to convince the farmers that they have been given permission to hold their tractor parade in Delhi after the Republic Day parade at the Rajpath concludes. “But some groups of farmers did not relent and started moving towards the Outer Ring Road breaking police barricades,” an official said.

A member of the Sankyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 41 unions, leading the protest against the three Central farm laws at several border points of Delhi, said those who broke the barricades belonged to the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee. He said the Sankyukt Kisan Morcha’s tractor parade will start as scheduled after police give farmers way. The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee on Monday announced that they would hold their march on Delhi’s busy Outer Ring Road on Republic Day.

Heavy security has been deployed in view of the ‘Kisan Gantantra Parade’ that will move into Delhi from the Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur border points. Special Commissioner of Police (CP), Intelligence in Delhi Police, Dependra Pathak has said on Sunday, “The tractor rally will enter Delhi from Tikri, Singhu, and Ghazipur borders and return to its originating points. From Singhu, it will pass through Kanjhawala, Bawana, Auchandi border, KMP Expressway, and then return to Singhu.”

The protesting unions has also announced a foot march to Parliament on February 1, when the annual Budget is presented, to press for their demands including a repeal of the three new agriculture laws. Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the national capital since November 26 against the three newly enacted farm laws – Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

The eleventh round of talks between farmers and the government was held on Friday.The talks of farmer unions and the government have seemingly broken down after the former insisted on their demand for the repeal of three new farm laws and the latter asked them to reconsider its offer to put these laws on hold for about 18 months. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday said that the agitation against the farm laws which has been going on for almost two months will end soon.