Farmers Protest Highlights: Third round of talks ends; discussion positive, says Arjun Munda

The third round of talks between the protesting farmers in Punjab and three central ministers concluded on a positive note well past midnight. Union Agriculture minister Arjun Munda said the dialogue was “very positive” and they had decided to meet again on Sunday evening. The farmer union leaders called the discussions on MSP, the Swaminathan report, and debt waiver “fruitful”, while Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said he would continue to broker peace for the state as he didn’t want to see the youth facing teargas shells.

Central leaders assured the farmer leaders that they would restore internet in the state and reinstate their social media pages that had been suspended.

Sarvan Singh Pandher, coordinator of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, summed up the mood of the dialogue: “If the commitments made during the meeting are translated into action, it would be highly beneficial for the farmer.”

Addressing the media, Mann said all the demands made by the farmers were discussed in a positive environment. “Since the Punjab farmer is affected the most, I came forward as chief of the state. Detailed discussions took place on all the issues.“

“I took up the issue of internet suspension in three districts and its impact on students who are taking their exams. What is their fault? The farmers showed shells fired at them. We said the farmers should not be treated like this.”

The Chief Minister said he had brought the Centre to the discussion table three times and was committed to addressing the issue. Read Full Detailed Report

The third round of negotiations between the Punjab Chief Minister in Chandigarh and the heads of the farmer unions and Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda, and Nityanand Rai has concluded.

Minister Arjun Munda addressed the media and stated that the farmers had brought up a number of important problems, making the meeting productive. He said that the next round of meetings will be held on Sunday.

Visuals from the third round of talks between the farmer union leaders with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai in Chandigarh.

Follow live updates here: https://t.co/FDBrxgkQet pic.twitter.com/kF7yCT1z2h

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) February 15, 2024

Third round of talks between the Union ministers and the 14 farmer union leaders which began two hours ago is underway.

Our reporter in Chandigarh has learnt that a discussion is over the issue of MSP guarantee in the meeting.

As the "Delhi Chalo" agitation of farmers entered the third day on Thursday, two key border points between Delhi and Haryana remained closed for traffic, while security personnel in anti-riot gear conducted drills and mock exercises to ensure their fool-proof preparation.The Delhi Police has ordered more than 30,000 teargas shells from the Border Security Force's (BSF) Tear Smoke unit, officials said.

The Gautam Buddh Nagar Police has said restrictions under CrPC section 144, including a ban on unauthorised public assemblies, would be enforced across the district on Friday in view of proposed protest marches called by the farmers' body Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and other unions.

Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai are representing the central government in the meeting.

Before the central ministers arrived, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann reached the venue to be part of the meeting.

Three Union ministers arrive at Chandigarh venue to begin talks with leaders of protesting farmers.

The Central ministers held a meeting with CM Bhagwant Mann at a hotel in Chandigarh after landing. The CM will also be part of the meeting with the farmer union members.

The third round of crucial talks, a day ahead of the Grameen Bandh, is to begin shortly. Fourteen farmer union leaders who were involved in the 'Dilli Chalo' march are set to meet three Union ministers, Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai in Chandigarh.

The third round of crucial talks, a day ahead of the Grameen Bandh, is to begin shortly. Fourteen farmer union leaders who were involved in the 'Dilli Chalo' march are set to meet three Union ministers, Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai in Chandigarh.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) issues guidelines for the Grameen Bandh tomorrow:

- The Grameen Bandh will be observed from 6 am to 4 pm on 16.02.2024. The villages will remain closed for all agricultural activities/ MNREGS Works/ Rural works; No farmer, agricultural worker and rural worker will join work.

- The supply and purchase of vegetables, other crops will remain suspended; All the village shops, grain markets, vegetable markets, government and non government offices, rural industrial and service sector institutions  and enterprises in private sector are requested to remain closed.The Shops and establishments  of towns  remain closed for the Strike Hours

- Normal public and private transport to remain off the roads. Ensure passage to emergency services of ambulance, death, marriage, medical shops, newspaper supply, Board exams, Passengers to Airport. 

- Farmers will join Massive Chakka Jam / Rastha Roko/ Road Picketing during 12 pm to 4 pm.

- The massive demonstrations / rally and public meeting followed by cultural programme at village, tehsil and district centers with farmers, workers and  all other sections of the people  to join alongwith their family members.

Travelling between Delhi-Chandigarh, only via Gurgaon; Singhu border and Tikri border completely shut

Travelling from Chandigarh to Delhi - can reach Delhi starting from Chandigarh via Panchkula, Barwala, Dosarka, Barara, Babain, Ladwa, and Pipli-Kurukshetra or Panchkula, Barwala, Yamunanagar (NH-344), Ladwa, Indri to Karnal. From Karnal, the commuters should cross Panipat and Sonipat and then take the KMP Expressway to reach Gurugram first and then to Delhi.

Travelling from Delhi to Chandigarh - can reach their destination by first coming from Delhi to Gurugram, take the KMP expressway and reach Sonipat, to Panipat to Karnal and then move towards Indri to Ladwa, Yamunanagar (NH-344), Barwala, Panchkula, or take the road from Karnal to Pipli and then go through Ladwa, Babain, Barara, Dosarka, Barwala, Panchkula and then to Chandigarh.

Travelling from Hisar and Sirsa - can reach Panchkula via Kaithal (152-D), Pehwa via Kurukshetra, Babain, Barara, Dosarka, Barwala. Similarly, commuters coming from Rewari, Narnaul, and Jind can reach Panchkula from Kaithal via Pehowa, Kurukshetra, Ladwa, Babain, Barara, and Dosarka.

In case of any difficulty, contact Dial-112. Haryana Police appeals to the general public to use the railway route as a precautionary measure for traveling to Punjab because of the announcement of the Delhi march by farmers' organisations.

Speaking in Bihar's Aurangabad, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said: "Protesting farmers fighting for nation, just like soldiers do on borders."

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will not be participating the meeting between 14 farmer union members and the union ministers today. Finance Minister Harpal Cheema has been assigned by the CM to be a part of the meeting instead.

Fourteen farmer leaders set to hold the third round of talks with a team of Union ministers reach the venue in Sector 26, Chandigarh.

Fourteen farmer union members -- Seven each from Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) -- will be attending today's meeting with Union ministers for the third round of talks. They are on their way to Chandigarh.

Speaking on the BJP govt's action against farmers who are protesting for their demands to be met by the Centre, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said: "Administration of Ravan has crossed all Lakshman Rekhas"

She claimed that the BJP is not bothered even as farmers are protesting and the "country is burning."

Jammu and Kashmir's PAGD, an amalgam of five political parties -- National Conference, People's Democratic Party, CPI(M), CPM and Awami National Conference (ANC) -- has criticised the central government's handling of farmers' protest.

“In response to a communication from the SKM seeking our support to their ongoing protest, the leadership of the PAGD is of the view that the demands of the farmers are genuine and we are extending our support to them,” senior CPI(M) leader and spokesperson of the PAGD M Y Tarigami told PTI.

A group of farmers from Karnataka travelling from Bengaluru to Delhi to participate in the farmers' protest were detained in MP's Bhopal.

Four days after the incident, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has requested his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Mohan Yadav to get the farmers from the state. It has been four days since the farmers have been detained and they have not been released yet, Siddaramaiah said.

"It is now learnt that your police authorities are shifting them to Varanasi. Travelling to Delhi to participate in a peaceful protest is the Constitutional right of the people. It is highly unfortunate that farmers who are seeking better policies are being arrested and ill treated by police authorities in Madhya Pradesh," the letter said.

Protesting the Haryana government's actions on farmers at Shambhu and Khanauri borders, farmer unions BKU Ugrahan and BKU Dakaunda organized a four-hour rail roko at 15 locations in Punjab, disrupting rail services.

Ferozepur railway division reported 3 cancellations, 6 diversions, 5 short terminations, and 5 short originations, affecting several routes.

According to the DRM office in Ferozepur, several trains were diverted, rescheduled, or short originated, causing inconvenience to commuters. Read the full story here. 

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that tear gas shelling on protesting farmers by the security forces is not a political subject. "Law and order agencies, intelligence agencies constantly coordinate with each other. It’s the responsibility of security agencies on how to maintain law and order; it is not a political subject…," Khattar said.

"I know that several people including farmers, media, police have sustained injuries, but if anybody had breached law and order or barricades, action would have been taken against them," Khattar continued.

"I would not like to comment if this ongoing agitation is “sponsored”. I don’t have any input, but the way it is going on, it seems that there is some kind of support. The picture it depicts shows there might be some understanding, that’s why they were not stopped all this way till they reached here (border).," he added.

He hoped for a solution after Thursday's meeting between farmers' leaders and the Union ministers. "I hope that some amicable solution will emerge out of it. Any confrontation is in nobody’s interest. I hope that some solution will definitely come out of these talks."

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, speaking to reporters on Thursday, said that people are tired of the disruptions caused by agitating farmers.

"Creating scary picture in the name of protest, do they think that people will get away from Modi ji? They are mistaken. Today, people are getting fed up with such disruptions caused by them. They think that they will take their tractors-trolleys and go to the Red Fort? What scenes came out previous time? Does the country want this? People don’t want such things," he said.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that the talks between the protesting farmers and the Centre are the only way to resolve the farmers' issues.

"Such issues are to be raised in parliament or state legislative assembly. I would like to praise Gurnam Singh Chaduni who had said that he would contest and raise these issues in the state legislative assembly. As far as Punjab is concerned, they are experiencing it (the protests) recently. We had borne the brunt for over one year. If they had to bear it for one year, they would have learnt it."

He also asked the media persons to use designated areas to avoid injuries. "Media should follow the designated areas for parking their vehicles or for their operations to ensure their safety," he said.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, speaking to The Indian Express on Thursday, ahead of farmers' talks with the Centre iterated that all their issues can be resolved with talks, and that the protesting farmers should look at the way Haryana government is treating its farmers.

"I would like to appeal to Punjab farmer brothers, they should look at the way how we are treating Haryana farmers. We are buying 14 crops in Haryana on MSP. They should look at the Haryana model and convey it to Punjab government. All the issues can be resolved by way of talks. If Punjab farmers can get Haryana model implemented in their state, more than half of their issues will get resolved automatically," Khattar said.

Further, he said, "farmers had given a call to March for February 13. I would like to say that the demands are not from Haryana government, it is concerning the Centre. It is correct that it is diplomatic right of every citizen to go to New Delhi, but we had seen the experience last year at Singhu."

"Even today, several such videos are available on social media. People are worried about their business, their safety. But look at the way they want to move - with tractors, JCBs, cranes, ration supplies for one year etc. It is so intimidating," Khattar added.

Farmers of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) and BKU Dakaunda (Dhaner) began ‘rail roko’ at several locations across Punjab at 12 noon, including railway stations at Mansa, Barnala and Rajpura.

'Rail roko' began at Punjab's Barnala railway station on Thursday, where farmers were seen sitting on the railway tracks as part of the ongoing protests. The 'rail roko' is set to continue at over ten locations till 4 pm.

Four hours #railroko starts at Barnala railway station. It will be held at over 10 places in #Punjab till 4 pm. #FarmersProtest2024 @IndianExpress @iepunjab pic.twitter.com/NVRU0Yf8uJ

— raakhijagga (@raakhijagga) February 15, 2024

Ahead of talks between farmers’ leaders and Central ministers in Chandigarh on Thursday, the organizers of the ‘Dilli Chalo’ march have called on residents of over 12,500 villages in the state to send at least 100 people, each in two tractor-trolleys, to the Haryana border.

In a video message from the protest site at Khanauri border, Kaka Singh Kotra, the state General Secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Sidhupur, appealed to the residents to ensure that at least 100 persons from their village reach the Haryana border, where a buildup of farmers has occurred in the past two days.

Despite pleas from the organizers of the Dilli Chalo protest at the Shambhu border, a group of young farmers persisted in advancing towards barricades on the Haryana side on Wednesday.

Haryana Police continued deploying teargas shells in an attempt to dissuade them. Dilbagh Singh Harigarh, a member of BKU-Ekta-Azad, urged protestors not to succumb to provocation and to maintain alertness. Avoid clashing with the police, he said.

Near the barricades, Ishaan Singh Brahmpura from Taran Tarn tried to prevent protesters from advancing, expressing concern over potential injuries. Read more here.

“Bunker tractors,” equipped with mechanical hammers and shielded on all sides with wet gunny bags, served as farmers’ “tanks” to confront the heavy duty 12-layer barriers of Haryana police at the Shambhu border amid the Dilli Chalo protests.

Narinder Singh, a farmer from Ambala, mentioned, “The concrete barricade removed by the farmers yesterday was taken down with one of these tractors.” His machine was covered with gunny sacks to minimize the impact of any collision and gas exposure, with the driver donned in special leather gear provided by the farmers’ union.

Farmers also carried knapsack sprayers filled with water to the protest site, utilizing swimming goggles to shield against gas. Read what farmers are carrying with them here.

Madhura Swaminathan, 62, an acclaimed economist and daughter of the legendary agricultural scientist late MS Swaminathan, Tuesday said at an event in Delhi that the “protesting farmers in Punjab and Haryana cannot be treated as criminals by the government”.

Late Dr MS Swaminathan, known as the “Father of Green Revolution” for steering India to food security, was recently honored with country’s highest civilian honor Bharat Ratna by the Indian government.

In an interview with The Indian Express, she talks about ongoing protests by farmers in Punjab and Haryana, their demand for assured Minimum Support Price (MSP), government’s responsibility towards farmers, crises in agriculture and their possible solutions. 

Here's the full interview.

General Secretary of Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Sarvan Singh Pandher, said, “It is not the Haryana police but paramilitary forces which are deployed at Haryana border. They are not using tear gas shells but smoke cell airburst and smoke cell ground burst. The police does not use all this. The army does."

"These not only release gases but also cause injury," he added.

The security personnel are also using rocket launchers. Our men have also picked up used SLR bullets from the fields. Are farmers firing them? All this is highly explosive ammunition," Pandher said while showing used ammo shells to the media.

"Despite facing all this, we are in for a dialogue. This shows we want resolution through talks," he continued.

A group of youngsters at the Khanauri border, said, "Our cranes have been parked way behind, don't want to bring them here as we expect that the ones who installed the barricades, they themselves will remove them."

The organisers of the protests have asked agitating farmers to exercise restraint from moving forward, and wait for the outcomes of today's talks with Centre.

"We will not move forward, if there will be no shelling from the other side," Sarvan Singh Pandher, General Secretary of Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee told The Indian Express.

"Show us the white flag," Pandher added. "Centre can resolve the matter with talks. Stop defaming us."

The agitating farmers' organisations Thursday requested Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to be a part of the meeting set to be held with Central ministers.

“Our CM, who has mediated with the Centre on our demands, should also be a part of the meeting today," Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) leader said.

Chief Minister’s Office will shortly convey the decision of the CM, said a government functionary.

The Samyukta Kisam Morcha (SKM) will hold protests at toll plazas in Punjab from 11 am till 2 pm. "Farmers will stage protest on one side of the road at toll barriers and will not allow the staff to collect toll tax for 3 hours. General traffic will move from the other side of the road," Dr Darshan Pal, Member of the National Co-ordination Committee said.

SKM also called another meeting to discuss the next plan of action on February 18, Pal added

Senior farmer leader from Haryana, Gurnam Singh Chaduni Thursday, called for meeting of his union (Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Chaduni) at Chaduni village of Kurukshetra district to decide its stand on the ongoing agitation of the farmers.

As of now, BKU (Chaduni) is not part of those unions that had given a call for the 'Dilli Chalo' march.

Joginder Singh Ugrahan, the president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan), said, "The government should agree to the demands of the farmers in today's meeting and should not try to follow delay tactics yet again. Farmers, as a community, are on the same page on all these demands, irrespective of the fact that we have ideological differences within our farmer unions."

Gurvinder Singh, a farmer from Mandi Kalan, said, "Over 800 youngsters are in the front to handle the situation. Most of them are in the age group of 25-30 years and have experience of driving heavy vehicles."

Farmers at Shambhu and Khanauri are up for the day. However, they won't be moving ahead towards removing barricades as farmer union leaders will be proceeding for talks, the farmers said. 

"If any shelling or any sort of action comes from the Haryana security forces, we will react accordingly," said Kaka Singh Kotra, General Secretary of BKU Sidhupur leading the convoy at Khanauri.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) and BKU Dakaunda (Dhaner) have announced 'rail roko' in Punjab on Thursday at seven locations, beginning from 12 noon. The 'rail roko' will continue till 4 pm.

The 'rail roko' locations include Rajpura, Sunam (close to Shambhu and Khanauri borders, respectively), Jethuke village in Bathinda, Moga, Mansa, Malaut, Valla railway crossing in Amritsar, Barnala, Sangrur, Budhlada.

This will affect the Amritsar-Jalandhar-Delhi line, the Mansa-Bathinda-Delhi line, Ludhiana-Ferozepur line, and some other locations.

General Secretary of Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Sarvan Singh Pandher, speaking to reporters on Thursday, said, "We have a meeting with the ministers today, and we want PM Modi to have a conversation with them so that we can reach a solution for our demands. Or else, this is a democratic nation, we should be allowed to protest peacefully in Delhi."

He further said, "...We are going to attend the meeting in a completely positive mood today and we have full confidence that a positive solution will emerge from this meeting," news agency ANI reported.

#WATCH | General Secretary of Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Sarvan Singh Pandher says, "We have a meeting with the ministers today, and we want PM Modi to have a conversation with them so that we can reach a solution for our demands. Or else, we should be allowed to… pic.twitter.com/j7Z3TlflMI

— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2024

#WATCH | On the meeting with ministers today, General Secretary of Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Sarvan Singh Pandher says, "...We are going to attend the meeting in a completely positive mood today and we have full confidence that a positive solution will emerge from… pic.twitter.com/3DV4dLZZI0

— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2024

Farmer leaders are set to hold talks with Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda and Nityananad Rai, for the third time in a row, in Chandigarh on Thursday as the Punjab-Haryana border continued to remain tense.

A day earlier, talking to the media, the leaders said that the protestors at the Shambhu border were asked to choose between two options — first, pressing on for their demands, and second, returning to the table for further discussions.

Farmer leaders also said they would refrain from advancing towards Delhi on Thursday if there was no teargas shelling from Haryana’s side.

Good morning and welcome back to our live blog!

We will be keeping you posted with updates from the farmer-led 'Dilli Chalo 2.0' march all day today. Follow this space for the latest updates.

As of now, the protesting farmers have decided to once again hold talks with the Centre, and not make any fresh attempts to move ahead towards Delhi until these talks are conducted. The further course of action will be determined by the outcomes of the meeting. 

Hundreds of farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders for the past two days to put pressure on the Centre for their demands, including a law on MSP, loan waivers and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations. The farmers flew kites in protest on Wednesday against the police who have resorted to using drones to air-drop tear gas shells upon the agitators.

Here are the latest visuals from Punjab-Haryana Shambhu Border that security forces resort to tear gas shelling to disperse the protesting farmers, after sundown.

VIDEO | Latest visuals from Punjab-Haryana Shambhu Border where security forces resort to tear gas shelling to disperse the protesting farmers. #FarmersProtest pic.twitter.com/oiLhPHn7nk

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 14, 2024

A day before the 3rd round of talks of farmer union leaders with the union ministers, farmer union leaders have announced that on Thursday they will not move forward if there will be no shelling from Haryana's side. They also stated that they will be going to the meeting with a calm and composed mind. 

Sarvan Singh Pandher, coordinator of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), in a conversation with The Indian Express, said,"We will not move forward to remove the barricades tomorrow if there is no shelling from the other side. Our young farmers at the forefront are keeping enough patience now... we want to go to the talks with the Union ministers at Chandigarh, in calm and composed manner."

The Punjab government will bear all treatment expenses incurred by people injured during the farmers’ protest that started on Tuesday, Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh said on Wednesday.

The minister was on a tour of government health facilities near the Haryana border to visit farmers, journalists and police personnel injured during a Haryana police action to deter farmers from entering the state.

Balbir Singh criticised the Haryana government over the “unconstitutional and illegal” police action on protesting farmers. He said the government had no right to stop the farmers who were peacefully heading to Delhi. “The national highway is the property of the nation and farmers were just to pass from Haryana’s jurisdiction to reach Delhi,” he said. Read more

Over 40 farmers received injuries on Wednesday after Haryana Police used rubber bullets, teargas and water cannons to disperse the protesting farmers who had gathered at the Datta Singhwala-Khanauri border between Punjab and Haryana.

The border, which witnessed clashes between the Haryana Police and the farmers from Punjab for nearly two hours on Tuesday, saw increasing mobilisation of protestors on Wednesday. At one point of time, there were nearly 15,000 farmers at the spot. Read full story here

Protesting over police action against farmers at Shambhu and Khanouri, members of Krantikari Kisan Union burnt effigies of Modi government at 40 places in Punjab.

Farmers flying kites at Khanouri-Daata Singh Wala border to thwart any possible drone attack, Wednesday.

In view of the call for the Delhi march by farmers' organisations, the public is informed that commuters from Chandigarh to Delhi can reach Delhi via Panchkula, Barwala, Dosarka, Barara, Babain, Ladwa, and Pipli-Kurukshetra or Panchkula, Barwala, Yamunanagar (NH-344), Ladwa, Indri, and Karnal. 

Commuters from Delhi to Chandigarh can reach their destination via Karnal, Indri, Ladwa, Yamunanagar (NH-344), Barwala, Panchkula, or Karnal, Pipli, Ladwa, Babain, Barara, Dosarka, Barwala, Panchkula. 

Commuters from Hisar and Sirsa can reach Panchkula via Kaithal (152-D), Pehwa via Kurukshetra, Babain, Barara, Dosarka, Barwala. Similarly, commuters coming from Rewari, Narnaul, and Jind can reach Panchkula from Kaithal via Pehwa, Kurukshetra, Ladwa, Babain, Barara, and Dosarka.

In case of any difficulty, contact Dial-112. Haryana Police appeals to the general public to use the railway route as a precautionary measure for traveling to Punjab because of the announcement of the Delhi march by farmers' organisations.

Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur today said two DSPs and 24 police personnel were injured in the stone pelting at the farmers' protest site yesterday. "Some farmers were also injured. I appeal to all to follow the law & order...Mainly Ambala-Chandigarh route is affected," DGP Kapur added.

#WATCH | On the impact of farmers' protest, Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur says, "...Two DSPs, around 24 police personnel were injured in stone-pelting yesterday. Some farmers were also injured. I appeal to all to follow the law & order...Mainly Ambala-Chandigarh route is… pic.twitter.com/zXrOKcHKps

— ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2024

Congress leader Sachin Pilot today said that farmers are protesting again due to the stubbornness of the Central government, which has been unable to solve their issues. He said farmers are not getting fair prices for their crops and the Congress will provide a legal guarantee for minimum support price if its INDIA alliance forms government after the Lok Sabha elections. "Farmers are protesting due to the stubbornness of the central government, which has not been able to solve their issues," Pilot told the media.

Ten farmers have sustained rubber bullet injuries so far in shelling by the Haryana police.

Delhi Police removes NHAI welcome boards in preparation for the farmers protests. "We are no longer welcoming bad elements to Delhi," said a senior officer who is overseeing the process. "In case the bad elements do make it to the border, we'll fire tear gas shells at them. We're removing the boards so that the shells don't hit the boards, and reaches the protestors," he said.

Krantikari Kisan Union to protest at block and tehsil level today in Punjab to express solidarity with protesting farmers, said Dr Darshan Pal, president of this union. He is also national coordination committee member of SKM. He says," in our emergency meeting, we will decide how to extend support to the protesting farmer organisations. "

The X account of Mandeep Punia, an independent journalist who runs Gaon Savera, has been withheld. Punia said his YouTube channel has also been suspended. Punia had shot to fame after his reporting on the Kisan agitation against the three farm laws

Watch video | At Shambhu border, police resort to tear gas shelling after stone pelting by protesting farmers.

VIDEO | Police resort to tear gas shelling after stone pelting by protesting farmers at Punjab-Haryana Shambhu Border. pic.twitter.com/aQDbWwJdoh

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 14, 2024