New Delhi [India] : The AAP led Delhi government on Monday backed the farmer protests and said that it cannot give consent to turn the Bawana stadium into a jail to prevent farmers from marching to Delhi.
The AAP took on the Union Government claiming that the centre was anti-farmer and thus was going all out to prevent peaceful protests.
“These nails and barricades are the biggest proof of Modi’s hatred for the country’s food providers. Annadata farmers who grow crops on the land to feed the country. Modi has laid a network of nails on the way to stop the farmers” the AAP said in a post on X.
“The amount of force being used by the Modi government to stop the farmers from providing food to the country. With less strength than that, MSP law can be made. But only if there is intention” another post on X from AAP stated.
The Delhi Government further claimed that it had received a proposal from the centre to turn the stadium into a jail. A claim that sources in the Centre have denied.
Asserting that it is the constitutional right of every citizen to make peaceful protests, Delhi Government Home Minister Kailash Gehlot said in an order, “The demands of the farmers are genuine. It is the constitutional right of every citizen to make a peaceful protest. It is therefore incorrect to arrest the farmers.”
“The Central Government, in fact, should invite them over for talks and try to find a solution of their genuine problems. Farmers of the Country are our “annadata” and treating them in this way by arresting them would be like rubbing salt into their wounds. We cannot be a party to this decision of the Central Government. 17. Hence, approval cannot be given for converting a stadium into a jail,” the minister said.
The farmer protest has been called by Sanyukt Kisan Morcha and Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee led by farmer union leaders Jagjeet Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher.
The farmers have put forth 12 demands before the central government for which they’re marching to Delhi.
According to the protesting farmers, the centre promised them better crop prices after which they ended the 2021 protest.
They are demanding to enact a law guaranteeing a minimum support price (MSP) for all crops, as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission report.
They are also demanding a complete debt waiver and a scheme to provide pensions to farmers and farm labourers.
The farmers have also urged to scrap the Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 and are demanding to reintroduce the Land Acquisition Act of 2013, ensuring consent from farmers and compensation at 4 times the collector rate.
Further, they are demanding to punish those involved in the Lakhimpur Kheri killings. An appeal to provide 200 days of employment per year and a daily wage of Rs 700 under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) linking it with farming has also been made by the farmers. Also, a demand to provide compensation to the families of farmers who died during the protests in 2021 and a job for any family member has been put in place.
Meanwhile, massive security arrangements have been put in place on the borders of the national capital because of the ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest. To ensure law and order, Delhi police have already enforced Section 144, restricting entry of tractor trolleys and large assemblies.
