Farmers start regrouping at Haryana-Rajasthan border

Farmers from Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Hanumangarh and Ganganagar are expected to reach the protest site at the border by Monday, protesters said.

Farmers protesting at Shahjahanpur near Jaisinghpur Khera at the Haryana-Rajasthan border said that their counterparts from both the states are mobilising once again at the protest site, after many left for their home towns following the violence in Delhi.

“Protesters are joining the agitation once again. Today, around 200 people from Jaipur arrived here and took out a Tiranga yatra. The numbers of protesters here is steadily increasing,” said Naveen Sohlot, a farmer from Bawal. (PTI)

Farmers from Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Hanumangarh and Ganganagar are expected to reach the protest site at the border by Monday, protesters said. Protesting leaders said that Tikait’s speech had given a fresh lease of life to the movement that seemed to be flagging temporarily.

Naveen Sohlot, a farmer from Bawal, who is camping at Shahjahanpur, said that around 200 farmers from Jaipur had reached the protest site on Saturday. “Protesters are joining the agitation once again. Today, around 200 people from Jaipur arrived here and took out a Tiranga yatra. The numbers of protesters here is steadily increasing,” said Sohlot.

He said that Tikait’s emotional speech gave a fresh impetus to the ongoing agitation, especially among the Jat farmers of the state. “Protesters from Jaipur from the Jat community have also joined us. To a certain extent, the community is now against the government on this issue, following Tikait’s speech,” said Sohlot. He said that support from different places in Haryana was increasing and farmers on around 50 tractors from Bawal are set to join the agitation on Sunday.

Sanjay Madhav, a member of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha — the umbrella body of farmer unions protesting at Delhi’s borders — and the state convener of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee in Rajasthan, said, “Farmers have defeated the government’s plans of crushing the agitation taking place at Ghazipur under the leadership of Rakesh Tikait. They have decided that they will not give up or get up from the highway till the three laws are rolled back.”

Harvinder Singh Gill, a farmer from Shri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, said, “Farmers from Hanumangarh and Ganganagar have left their villages and should reach in a day or two,” said Gill.

He said that while the situation was tense till January 27, things are improving for the better. “Post Republic Day, some people had raised slogans here. But everything is peaceful now. The movement will only gain strength now,” said Gill.

Bharatiya Janata Party’s spokesperson for Haryana, Jawahar Yadav, said that if the numbers of protesters are increasing, it is likely due to the support of opposition parties. “Politicians from opposition parties are sharing the stage with Rakesh Tikait. It is becoming evident that these parties are backing the protests,” said Yadav.