Farmers protest highlights: ‘Will march to Delhi on Feb 21 if…,’ farmer leader issues warning

As thousands of farmers camped at the Punjab-Haryana border planning to resume their protest march to Delhi, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday orally asked the Punjab government not to allow them to gather in large numbers. The court observed that tractor-trolleys cannot be run on highways according to the Motor Vehicles Act and said the farmers can go to Delhi by bus or using public transport, reported news agency PTI.

The government has ordered temporary blocking of around 177 social media accounts and web links that are linked to the farmers' protest, according to sources, reported news agency PTI.

The orders were issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on February 14 and 19 at the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs under section 69A of the IT Act.

"The orders have been issued to temporarily block 177 social media accounts and web links to maintain law and order on request of the Ministry of Home Affairs," the source said.

Links and accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and some other social media platforms have been ordered to be blocked. These accounts can be restored after the farmers' agitation is over, the source added.

While farmers are set to resume their 'Delhi Chalo' march on February 21, Haryana Police on Tuesday asked their Punjab counterparts to seize bulldozers which they say protesting farmers from Punjab have brought with them, reported news agency PTI

With farmers resuming their 'Delhi Chalo' march on February 21, Delhi Police have directed security personnel deployed at the city's Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur border points to stay alert and conducted mock drills on Tuesday, reported news agency PTI.

On Tuesday, Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar alleged that CM Bhagwant Mann has jeopardised the efforts of both farmer leaders and Union ministers at arriving at a solution amid the ongoing farmers' protests, reported news agency PTI.

"With Bhagwant Mann himself -- of all the people -- acting as the lawyer for the farmers, these negotiations were destined to fail because CM Mann had everything to gain from the failures of these talks," Jakhar said in a post on X.

Mann was present during the meeting between three Union ministers and farmer leaders on Sunday to seek a solution to the farmers' demands. At the meeting, the Union government came up with a proposal to buy pulses, maize and cotton crops through government agencies at minimum support price (MSP) for five years. However, farmer leaders have rejected this proposal and resumed their protest.

Gurugram Police detained at least 50 farmers in Manesar when they tried to march to Delhi to protest "unfair" compensation for over 1,800 acres of farmland sold to the state government, reported news agency PTI.

The farmers alleged that they were not given the right price for 1,810 acres of land in five villages in Manesar and decided to protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Tuesday.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Tuesday said the Centre should convene a daylong Parliament session to bring a legislation on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, reported news agency PTI.

He also asked the Centre to accept the other main demands of the farmers, including farm loan waiver.

Notably, farmer leaders have declined the BJP-led Centre's proposal for procuring pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP by government agencies for five years.

Having announced the resumption of 'Delhi Chalo' march on February 21, protesting farmers have brought heavy machinery on Punjab-Haryana border.

Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya on Tuesday said the state government deeply values the hard work of the farmers and is steadfastly dedicated to their welfare, reported news agency PTI.

He highlighted the state government's direct benefit transfer scheme to help farmers.

"Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, an amount of ₹4,157.73 crore has been directly deposited into the accounts of 19.94 lakh farmers of the state in the last four years," the governor said.

After having turned down government's proposal, farmers have announced to resume 'Delhi Chalo' march on February 21 at 11 am

"We will move towards Delhi on February 21 at 11 am...," said farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher

Farmers protest LIVE Updates: Farmer leaders from Punjab rejected on Monday the latest offer from the central government on guaranteeing floor prices for select crops, and announced that they will on Wednesday resume their march to the national Capital – a plan that has prompted police in Haryana and Delhi to seal off key borders for days now. Dig Deeper

Farmers protest LIVE Updates: In a revival of past protests, thousands of farmers marched towards New Delhi earlier this week. However, their efforts so far have been blocked by authorities, who have used tear gas, detained a number of farmers, and heavily barricaded entry points into the capital

Farmers protest LIVE Updates: Hours after farmers leading the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation rejected the Centre's proposal to procure pulses, maize and cotton at MSP, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher has warned the BJP-led government that it will be responsible for "whatever happens now". After the talks with the government failed, the protesting farmers have announced they will continue their march to Delhi on Wednesday, February 21. Pandher said on Tuesday morning that the government has made its intentions clear that it will not let them enter Delhi.

"The intention of the government was very clear that they would not let us enter Delhi at any cost...If you don't want to find a solution through discussion with farmers then we should be allowed to march towards Delhi," he told ANI.

Farmers protest LIVE Updates: Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed a wide range of issues related to Punjab with the PM, including issues concerning the farmers."

Farmers protest LIVE Updates: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) has recently issued emergency blocking orders for 177 social media accounts and links associated with the farmers' protests, citing the need to maintain "public order." These orders were finalized on Monday following a request from the Ministry of Home Affairs made the previous week. These emergency orders supplement the final orders issued on February 14.

Both sets of final blocking orders, issued on February 19 and 14 respectively, are temporary and conditional, issued for the duration of the ongoing agitation. After the protests conclude, social media platforms have the option to restore visibility to the blocked accounts and channels in India. This isn't the first instance of such temporary Section 69A blocking orders being issued during periods of protest, as per information gathered by HT.

Farmers protest LIVE Updates: A group of Union ministers engaged in their fourth round of discussions with farmer leaders on Sunday to address their various demands, which include securing a legal assurance for Minimum Support Price (MSP). Despite this, thousands of protesting farmers remained encamped at the Punjab-Haryana border.

The meeting, held at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26, was attended by Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The discussions commenced at 8:30 pm and extended late into the night.

Before the fourth round of discussions, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) declared its intention to surround the homes of BJP leaders in Punjab for three consecutive days starting Tuesday, aiming to increase pressure on the Centre to meet their demands.

Balbir Singh Rajewal, a prominent figure within the SKM, which represents a coalition of different farmer unions, stated that they plan to hold demonstrations outside the residences of Punjab's BJP leaders, including Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative Assembly, and district presidents, from Tuesday through Thursday.

Previous meetings between the Union ministers and farmer representatives took place on February 8, 12, and 15 but failed to reach a resolution.

Since February 13, protesting farmers from Punjab have maintained their presence at Shambhu and Khanauri points along the state's border with Haryana, following the interruption of their 'Delhi Chalo' march by police. This march was organized by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha to advocate for their demands.

Farmers protest LIVE Updates: Chaos unfolded in the national capital as police fired teargas shells on the protesting farmers after they reached the Shambhu border. Traffic movement was severely disrupted on major roads in the Delhi-NCR region with the authorities setting up barricades. Read More

Farmers protest LIVE Updates: Farmers in certain parts of the country are restive once again. They have started marching towards Delhi to exert pressure on the Union government through sit-ins. They claim the government has not kept the promises it made to them. However, one question arises: If farmers are present throughout the country, why is their agitation not nationwide? I’ll try to explain this in a bit, but first, let us first talk about a similar situation in Europe. Read More

Farmers protest LIVE Updates: In view of the ongoing farmers’ protest on Punjab borders, the Haryana government extended the ban on mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts by two more days till Monday. This was the fourth time the department of home affairs extended the ban, first imposed for two days from February 11 in seven districts of Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa. Dig Deeper

Farmers protest LIVE Updates: In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi claimed that ever since the Congress resolved to provide legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP), "Modi's propaganda machinery and media friendly to him have spread a barrage of lies on MSP".

"Lie -- It is not feasible to provide legal guarantee for MSP in the budget of the government of India. Fact -- According to CRISIL, giving MSP to farmers in 2022-23 would have resulted in an additional burden of ₹21,000 crore on the government, which is only 0.4 per cent of the total budget," Gandhi said in his post.

Farmers protest LIVE Updates: Hours after farmers leading the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation rejected the Centre's proposal to procure pulses, maize and cotton at MSP, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher has warned the BJP-led government that it will be responsible for "whatever happens now". Read More

Farmers protest LIVE Updates: "The whole country is watching how the farmers from Punjab are moving ahead. The talks that were going on with the government have failed. Farmers and people from Maharashtra are watching them," said Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut.

Farmers protest LIVE Updates: After the Centre's proposal on MSP, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal stated during a press conference that following discussions, the forums rejected the proposal.

"After the discussion of both forums, it has been decided that if you analyse, there is nothing in the government's proposal. Our government imports palm oil worth ₹1.75 crore from outside that also causes illness to general public. If this money is given to the farmers of the country to grow oil seed crops and MSP is announced, then that money can be used here. This is not on the favour of farmers. We reject it," ANI quoted Dallewal as saying.

"If the government is not giving legal guarantee of MSP, it means that the farmers of the country will continue to be looted. This is not acceptable," he added.

Farmers protest LIVE Updates: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha leaders and khap bodies announced to protest outside the offices of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana on February 21 over various demands. Read More

Haryana farmer leader Gurnam Singh Charuni, head of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) faction, on Monday said that they will also join the agitation after February 21 if the government does not agree to include oilseeds and bajra for procurement on minimum support price (MSP). Read More