Over 200 farmer leaders detained in Punjab ahead of ‘Chandigarh Chalo’ protest

“On Monday evening, first of all, the CM walked out of the meeting with SKM leaders and later on the police started raiding the houses of the leaders. The police came to my house in Ferozepur at 3 am and took me under preventive arrest,” Gurmeet Singh Mehma, state general secretary of Krantikari Kisan Union, alleged in a widely circulated video message.

Apart from Mehma, Krantikari Kisan Union leaders Jangveer Singh Chauhan, Manjeet Raj and Surjeet Singh were also detained in Tanda, Barnala and Moga, respectively.

The police allegedly arrived at the house of Joginder Singh Ugrahan, the president of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Ugrahan, but could not locate him. Mahesh Chander Sharma, general secretary of BKU Rajewal, and Harinder Singh Lakhowal, president of BKU Lakhowal, were also detained from their houses in Ludhiana and Mohali, respectively.

“The police are raiding the houses of SKM leaders. On Monday evening, Punjab CM abruptly walked out of the meeting with farmer leaders… none of our demands related to the state or the Centre have been implemented. Instead of considering our demands, the police are being sent to our houses to arrest us,” Lakhowal said in a video message.

Gulab Singh, a BKU Ugrahan leader, said the police arrived at his house in Bathinda at 4 am on Tuesday but were forced to return as farmers gathered at the spot. “When we don’t open the doors, they are climbing the walls to enter our houses or forcing us to open the doors,” he alleged.

In a post on X, former Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal condemned the developments. “I strongly condemn the arrogant Chief Minister of Punjab for raiding the homes of farmer leaders. The AAP government is choking democracy by carrying out such disgraceful actions,” he said in Punjabi, posting videos of the police raiding the houses of farmer leaders.

“Instead of apologising for the mistreatment of farmer leaders last evening, Bhagwant Mann has started arresting them. @BhagwantMann, power is not eternal—Punjab’s proud people will soon teach you a lesson,” the post read.

“The Bhagwant Mann-led government has made Emergency-like situation in Punjab. After it is exposed on the issues concerning Punjab’s farmers, now it’s resorting to police tactics on the farm leaders. As we have repeatedly stated, the Chief Minister has turned the state into a police state, and the Punjab Police’s actions against farmers are highly condemnable. This clearly reflects the anti-farmer mindset of the AAP government in Punjab,” MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, Union Minister of State for Railways and  Food Processing Industries, said in a post on X.

The SKM leaders had announced an emergency meeting at Ludhiana on Tuesday to discuss the strategy for the ‘Chandigarh Chalo’ march. The farmers have an 18-point charter of demands, of which nearly 12 points are related to issues linked to the state, sources said.

The farmers are yet to be allotted a space to protest in Chandigarh. The farmers had last organised a week-long dharna in Chandigarh in September last year.

The SKM’s demands: From MSP to ownership rights

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha met Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday night with 18 demands, 17 of which are related to state-level issues:

1. The Punjab government should pass a resolution to revoke the amendments made to the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act by the previous Akali Dal and Congress governments, which had initially supported the National Policy Framework on Agriculture Marketing.

2. The government should incorporate suggestions from farmer organisations into its agricultural policy and implement it.

3. The government must stop the eviction of hereditary tenant farmers and land settlers from their lands and grant them ownership rights. The government should restore land records (girdawari) for land-settling farmers and provide them access to bank loans, electricity connections, and subsidies.

4. The government must coordinate with the Centre to enact a legal framework for debt relief. As immediate relief, Punjab should implement a one-time settlement scheme for cooperative institutions, including land mortgage and agricultural development banks, to clear outstanding debts.

5. (a) To encourage crop diversification, the Punjab government must ensure procurement at minimum support price (MSP) for crops such as Basmati rice, maize, moong, potatoes, peas, and cauliflower. (b) The government must guarantee a well-organised procurement and payment system for wheat. Losses incurred due to delayed procurement of paddy should be compensated. (c) The Punjab government must issue clear notifications in advance regarding the permissible paddy varieties for cultivation to prevent difficulties in market procurement.

6. (a) Effective measures must be taken to prevent industrial and sewage pollution of rivers, drains, and groundwater. (b) Punjab must implement scientific water conservation structures, including efficient water use, rainwater harvesting, and recharge points at the sources of canals. (c) The irrigation infrastructure should be maintained properly to provide canal water to every farm and clean drinking water to every household. The policy of cementing canal beds must be stopped, and the unauthorised alteration of water outlet sizes must be prevented.

7. The government must fulfil its commitments to the families of farmers and labourers who died during the Delhi farmer protests by providing compensation and government jobs to one family member. The government must also allocate five acres of land in a central location to build a memorial for the martyrs.

8. The restriction on opening new accounts in cooperative societies must be lifted immediately through an official notification.

9. The policy of installing smart (prepaid) electricity meters must be revoked, and the issuance of penalty notices must be stopped.

10. The use of police force for land acquisition under the Bharatmala Project, highways, or other infrastructure projects must be halted. Compensation for acquired land should be determined based on market rates under the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, including additional rehabilitation benefits.

11. The issue of stray animals, including dogs, must be permanently resolved.

12. Sugarcane farmers must receive their pending dues from sugar mills along with interest.

13. The government must act against spurious fertilisers and seed providers, ensuring compensation for farmers from the responsible companies or dealers.

14. Black marketing of DAP fertilisers and seeds must be curbed immediately.

15. Special camps should be organised to expedite pending cases related to land distribution, correction of land records, and inheritance transfers.

16. Cases and penalties imposed on farmers forced to burn stubble due to lack of alternatives must be revoked. Notices for fines and red-entry markings in land records should be cancelled.

17. Police cases filed against farmers during protests must be withdrawn. Charges under Indian Penal Code Section 307 related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Ferozepur visit must be revoked.