Karnal (Haryana) [India], March 21 (HBTV): Farmers under the banners of the All India Kisan Sabha and Bharatiya Kisan Union staged a protest march to the residence of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini in Karnal on Thursday.
The demonstration, driven by various agricultural demands, saw a large turnout as farmers voiced their concerns.
This protest followed the Punjab Police’s action on Wednesday, when officers removed farmers from the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border, where they had been demonstrating over various demands. Police also cleared temporary structures erected at the protest site. Several farmer leaders, including Jagjit Singh Dallewal—who is on an indefinite fast—and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarvan Singh Pandher, were detained by the police.
Reacting to this, Punjab Minister Harpal Singh Cheema defended the government's action, stating that the Shambhu and Khanauri borders needed to be reopened.
Speaking to ANI, Cheema asserted that the farmers should protest in Delhi or elsewhere, as their demands were directed at the central government.
Earlier in the day, security was heightened at the Haryana-Punjab Shambhu border as Haryana Police removed concrete barricades to further restrict the movement of farmers from their protest site.
Meanwhile, former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal criticized the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government over the detention of protesting farmers at the Shambhu border. He accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of failing to address farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all crops.
Demanding the release of detained farmers, Badal alleged that despite promising MSP on crops, the Punjab government had ignored farmers' concerns.
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday met with Congress MPs from Punjab, who were protesting in Parliament premises over the farmers' issue.
Punjab Congress MPs, including state party chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, staged a protest against both the Punjab and central governments over the eviction of farmers.
(ANI)