Farmers associated with the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) on Wednesday postponed their proposed 228-km ‘Kisan Bachao Padyatra’ to Delhi from the Khanauri-Data Singhwala border after the Haryana administration assured them of a meeting with government representatives on September 4.
The decision came on the fourth day of the protest after the administration appealed to the farmers to defer the march and other programmes planned at the Punjab-Haryana border.
Moonak deputy superintendent of police Rajesh Sanehi, who was present at the site, said a meeting had been scheduled for September 4 with Union minister of power, housing and urban affairs Manohar Lal Khattar. The decision to postpone the march was announced by the Narwana SDM and DSP.
SKM (Non-Political) convener Jagjit Singh Dallewal described the development as a “victory for farmers”, saying the government had been forced to return to the negotiating table.
“The government had shut its doors, thinking it could do whatever it wanted. But the courage of the people has forced the government to come back to the negotiating table. They have invited us for talks on the 4th,” Dallewal said.
He said the farmers were postponing the march following the Haryana government’s appeal but stressed that the agitation was not over. The farmers, he said, would continue their campaign against the proposed India-US trade agreement and hold mahapanchayats at various locations across the country.
{{/usCountry}}He said the farmers were postponing the march following the Haryana government’s appeal but stressed that the agitation was not over. The farmers, he said, would continue their campaign against the proposed India-US trade agreement and hold mahapanchayats at various locations across the country.
{{/usCountry}}Dallewal also clarified that the farmers were not staging a sit-in at the border but had been on a march that was stopped by the Haryana authorities.
National Highway 52, which had remained blocked since Sunday, was also reopened to the public, the DSP said.
Earlier, farmers had announced a symbolic shirtless march towards the Haryana barricades on Wednesday to protest restrictions on their movement towards Delhi and oppose the proposed India-US trade agreement. The programme was subsequently postponed.
On Tuesday, the farmers had also announced district-level rallies across the country on August 20 to inform the public about the government’s action in stopping a 51-member group from entering Haryana.
The 228-km ‘Kisan Bachao Padyatra’ was scheduled to begin from Khanauri on August 16 and reach Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on August 29, where the farmers planned to hold a panchayat. The march was halted after Haryana authorities stopped the 51-member group and sealed the interstate route.
The farmers’ key demands include exclusion of agriculture, dairy, poultry and fisheries from any proposed India-US trade agreement, a legal guarantee for procurement of all crops at minimum support price (MSP) based on the Swaminathan Commission’s C2+50% formula, farm-loan waivers, higher sugarcane fair and remunerative price (FRP), and withdrawal of cases registered against farmers during previous agitations.