Farmers March To Delhi Over MSP Demand, Centre Offers "Modi's Guarantee"

Mobile internet and sending of bulk messages have been suspended - till December 9 - in parts of Haryana's Ambala district, minutes before a farmers group is to begin another 'Dilli chalo' march.

Dec 6, 2024 - 04:00
182120
Farmers March To Delhi Over MSP Demand, Centre Offers "Modi's Guarantee"

The Narendra Modi government is committed to purchasing farmers' produce at the Minimum Support Price, or MSP, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told Parliament Friday afternoon, shortly before farmers from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) faction began a 'Dilli chalo' march.

Over 100 farmers began marching from Shambhu on the Punjab-Haryana border, but ran immediately into multi-layered police barricades on National Highway 44, triggering a tense stand-off.

Visuals shared by news agency ANI showed a small army of farmers and their supporters, waving flags and chanting slogans, gathering in front of metal barriers and a bus parked across the road.

Cops stationed inside the bus looked on impassively.

In another video a group of farmers, some waving the national flag, have broken past one layer of barriers - a yellow police fence lies dented on the road - and amass outside the parked bus.

An uneasy tension prevails for now, although there are reports tear gas has been fired to keep the crowd of farmers - the current 'Dilli chalo' protest has rumbled on since January - under control.

Minutes before the march, mobile internet and sending of bulk messages were suspended - till December 9 - in parts of Ambala district. District officials have already issued orders banning gatherings of five or more people, and also ordered both government-run and private schools to shut for the day.

Today's protest is meant to press home farmers' longstanding demands for a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price, waiver of farm loans, and protection from increased electricity tariffs

The demand for legal backing for MSPs - which refers to a priced fixed by the government to protect farmers from a steep fall in crop prices; for example, during a bumper crop when prices plummet - a has been a core ask of protests that began in September 2020.

NDTV Explains | Centre's 5-Year MSP Plan, And Why Farmers Are Not Convinced

MSPs, however, have no legal backing, meaning the government is not obliged to buy, for example, 10 per cent of a farmer's paddy crop at the floor price. And it is this that the farmers want changed.

This round of farmers' protests, as they have since they first began, have also taken on a sharply political tinge, with the opposition rallying behind their demands. And their voice, they claim, has been boosted by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and his pointed question to Mr Chouhan.

On Tuesday Mr Dhankhar took up the farmers' cause and questioned the government.

READ | "Why Promises To Farmers Not Met": VEEP To Government

"Agriculture Minister, every moment is important... please tell me, what was promised to farmers (and) why was the promise not fulfilled? What should we do to fulfil the promise?" he asked at a public event.

Congress MP Rajeev Shukla also targeted the government, accusing it of having "turned back on its word". "The government promised legal guarantee of MSP but... this government doesn't do what it says... so farmers are agitated.." he said.

With input from agencies

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

This article has been sourced from various publicly available news platforms around the world. All intellectual property rights remain with the original publishers and authors. Unshared News does not claim ownership of the content and provides it solely for informational and educational purposes voluntarily. If you are the rightful owner and believe this content has been used improperly, please contact us for prompt removal or correction.