Punjab: Cops clear Shambhu, Khanauri blockades, detain over 450 farmers
Barring minor scuffles, no major untoward incident; farmers backstabbed, says Opposition, Bhagwant Mann’s government defends police action
Hours after talks between farmers and central delegation in Chandigarh, Punjab Police on Wednesday cleared a 13-month blockade at Shambhu and Khanauri borders by removing the protesters from the site and detaining several SKM (Non-Political) leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal.
The protests sites were cleared without any major untoward incident, barring minor scuffles between the cops and farmers. Police also removed temporary structures erected by farmers at the protest sites. At most of the places, farmers voluntarily sat in the buses that were deployed by the Punjab government to ferry them, officials said.
The action came after Punjab representatives, who were at the meeting that was also attended by Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, told the farmers’ delegation to allow passage of vehicles through Shambhu and Khanauri borders, a demand that was flatly refused by the farmers.
The latest round of talks ended in a deadlock, with a next meeting scheduled for May 4.
Defending the police action, Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who represented the state government at the talks, said: “Today’s action has been taken because we want the youth of Punjab to get employment. We want to open Shambhu and Khanauri borders. The demands of the farmers are against the central government and they should stage a protest in Delhi or somewhere else but should not block the roads of Punjab.” The Opposition was quick to slam the AAP government, accusing it of backstabbing the farmers.
The protesting farmers have been camping at the Shambhu (Shambhu-Ambala) and Khanauri (Sangrur-Jind) border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 last year when their march to Delhi was thwarted by security forces. Their demands include a legal guarantee on minimum support price for their crops, debt waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers and more.
The police action is being seen in the context of the unease among Punjab’s business and industrial community that has been pointing towards heavy losses they have incurred because of the closure of the Shambhu and Khanauri border points.
Earlier, Punjab minister and state AAP president Aman Arora, during an assembly session in March, had made a fervent appeal to the farmers to lift blockade citing inconvenience to people and economic losses to the state government.
More than a dozen farmer leaders were detained in Mohali while they were headed to the Shambhu border protest site after a meeting with a central delegation here, said farmer leader Guramneet Singh Mangat.
Apart from Pandher and Dallewal, Abhimanyu Kohar, Kaka Singh Kotra and Manjit Singh Rai have been detained, Mangat added.
At least 7,000 police cops from Sangrur, Patiala and other districts were engaged in the operation. Ambulances, buses, firefighting and anti-riot vehicles were also deployed near the protest sites.
Tensions at the Khanauri border escalated as over 3,000 policemen began clearing the area. Authorities moved to remove the protesting farmers, leading to minor skirmishes as the dispersal was enforced. While some farmers boarded the waiting buses voluntarily, others were forcibly put into buses by police. Before starting the operation to evict the farmers, Sidhu urged the protesting farmers to vacate the protest site peacefully. “We are 3,000 in numbers and you know your numbers, so we do not want to use force on you. We have been instructed to vacate the protest site and we will do that at all cost,” he added.
Patiala SSP Nanak Singh said the entire road will be cleared and opened for traffic. “Farmers had been protesting at the Shambhu border for a long time. Today, in the presence of duty magistrates, police cleared the area after they were given a proper warning. A few people showed a willingness to go home. So, they were sent home on a bus. In addition, the structures and vehicles here are being moved. The entire road will be cleared and opened for traffic,” he said. “Haryana Police will also begin their action. Once it opens from their side, the movement on the highway will resume,” the SSP said. The actual movement of traffic, however, may take some time as Haryana Police have set up permanent structures (to stop farmers) that need to be dismantled.
Many Opposition leaders lashed out at the AAP government over the police action to detain farmers. “The farmers are being constantly deceived. Farmers were told to end their hunger strike and then we will hold talks with them. The central government always tries to isolate farmers, especially of Punjab,” said Congress MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring.
Union minister and BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu also lashed out at Punjab CM and condemned the action by the police.
