Farmers unions have called for a 'Delhi chalo' protest on Tuesday to demand a law guaranteeing support prices for their crops. The police have set up stringent security measures in anticipation.
Indian police erected metal and concrete barricades on the highway to the national capital on Monday and banned public gatherings in Delhi, as thousands of farmers in north India begun their march to the parliament to demand minimum crop prices.
Several farmer unions have called for a 'Delhi Chalo', or 'March to Delhi' protest, echoing the agitation which began in late 2020 against three farm billswhich would have eroded government support for India's agricultural sector. The protest lasted over a year with hundreds of protesters killed, and culminated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's national government repealing the laws.
They were the largest public disturbances and mass protests faced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government since his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came into power in 2014.
Security arrangements at the border
Long convoys of tractors gathered on borders between the capital and neighboring Haryana state on Monday.
In response, the police have set up barricades with metal spikes, temporary jails and alternative routes for ambulances, according to local media.
News publications Times of India and ANI reported that police tested a tear gas-dropping drone system at Shambhu border near Ambala, north of Delhi, in anticipation of the protests.
Meanwhile the police have banned any public gathering of more than five people in Delhi.
Farmers in India have political heft due to their large numbers. The march scheduled for Tuesday morning comes months before the 2024 general elections in India and could turn into a key election agenda.
What are their demands?
The key item in the farmers' list of demands is a law guaranteeing a minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.
This a condition the government had agreed to in 2021but farmers' unions accuse the government of falling behind on their promise.
The government of India announces support prices for over 20 crops every year — this sets the minimum price it will pay for the crops, but is not binding for private purchasers. However, state agencies only end up buying rice and wheat at the support level which benefits only farmers growing those two crops, thought to be around 6% of India's farmers.
Farmers are also demanding implementation of the recommendations put forward by the Swaminathan commission between 2004-06 which focused on farmer distress and the rising farmer suicides. The commission recommended pensions, debt waivers and farmer healthcare among other things.
After several rounds of talks on Monday, the government agreed to withdraw the cases against the farmers registered during the 2020-21 agitation, the Press Trust of India reported, citing sources. Government ministers have also purportedly agreed to compensate any left out families of farmers who died during the protests.
Discussions on the remaining demands failed to yield results.
"Farmers from across the country are prepared to march on Delhi starting Tuesday if the government doesn't meet our demands," Swaran Singh Pandher, leader of a nationwide farmers' association had earlier told AFP.
Source: Dw
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