New Delhi: Protesting farmers on Sunday decided they would not meet the committee set up by the Haryana government to clear the blockade on National Highway-44 on the Kundli-Singhu border. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmers’ organisations that has been leading the ongoing protests against the farm laws, said that it was the police – and not the protesting farmers – who had blocked and barricaded roads.
The SKM, according to the Indian Express, alleged that the Haryana government is “misinterpreting the Supreme Court order” to “drag farmers into meetings”.
Last week, the Manohal Lal Khattar government had formed a committee comprising Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajeev Arora as chairperson and the DGP and Additional DGP (Law and Order) as members to discuss how that stretch of road could be reopened. A day before that, Sonipat Deputy Commissioner Lalit Siwach had met with protesting farmers and said that the Supreme Court had asked the district administration to provide free movement for common people.
Responding to the farmers’ allegation that it was not them who had blocked the road, Arora said, “These things will be cleared only when the talks are held. We just know that we came here for a meeting and those who were invited to it, did not come to attend it.”
While farmers did not attend the meeting, Arora told the Indian Express that the panel spoke to local businessmen and heard their issues.
The SKM, meanwhile, insists that the Haryana government is misquoting the Supreme Court. In a statement, the Morcha said that the court had “impressed upon the Solicitor General that the solution lies in the hands of Union of India and the concerned state governments and they must coordinate to ensure that if the protests are on, at least the inter-state roads and national highways are not blocked in any manner”.
“The SKM leaders have reasoned that the SC orders were being misinterpreted. The Government is adamant on not fulfilling the farmers’ rightful demands, and has not initiated any talks with farmer representatives after January 22 this year. The government does know where the solution lies and has been vengefully obstinate about putting protesting farmers through hardships, even though more than 600 protestors have been martyred so far. It is shameful that an elected government in the world’s largest democracy is putting its citizens through such a struggle for saving their own livelihoods and future,” the statement read, according to the Indian Express.
“It is not the farmers who have blocked the roads. In fact, protesting farmers have created clear paths on both sides of the road at Singhu border as well as Tikri border for traffic to move, and have been forced to occupy only one side of the road at Ghazipur border. Same is the situation at Shahjahanpur border and other morchas,” it continued.