Kisan mahapanchayat: Farmers block highway to Delhi again over sunflower MSP, release of BKU leaders

Wrestler Bajrang Punia joined the mahapanchayat in Kurukshetra at noon and announced his support to the farmers.

faarmer protest kurkshetra msp sunflower

Farmers block a road in Kurukshetra as they gather here to hold Mahapanchyat over their demand for Minimum Support Price. (Photo:ANI)

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Farmers once again blocked the Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar national highway near Pipli in Kurukshetra, where a kisan mahapanchayat was underway Monday, to pressurise the Haryana government to adhere to their demands, including ensuring the purchase of sunflower crop at MSP and the release of arrested BKU leaders, including Gurnam Singh Chaduni. A large police force has also been deployed to maintain law and order.

Wrestler Bajrang Punia joined the mahapanchayat in Kurukshetra at noon and announced his support to the farmers. Earlier, the farmers’ organisations had extended their support to the wrestlers’ protest seeking action against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual harassment allegations.

#WATCH | We have come here to support the farmers. Even we come from farmer families. We will stand with the farmers who are standing on the roads. We have supported farmers even during the farmers’ protest and we will keep supporting them: Wrestler Bajrang Punia at Kisan… pic.twitter.com/EDCixiYHuU

— ANI (@ANI) June 12, 2023

On Sunday, Haryana Police issued notices to several farmer leaders asking them not to be part of Monday’s kisan mahapanchayat.

On Sunday too a kisan mahapanchayat was organised by farm bodies on the KMP Expressway at Mandothi in Rohtak and it was decided that the farmers would block roads and highways across Haryana on Wednesday, June 14, if Brij Bhushan Singh was not arrested by then.

Also Read | Protest over sunflower MSP: Farm leader Chaduni arrested, remanded in judicial custody

Police personnel detain farmers during their protest against the Haryana governments decision to not buy sunflower seeds on the minimum support price (MSP), in Kurukshetra, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (PTI Photo)

On June 6, farmers blocked NH-44 while protesting against the Haryana government. On orders from the Punjab and Haryana High Court to clear the national highway, the state police used force and lathi-charged the protesters, even using water cannons to disperse the agitated mob. Bharat Kisan Union (BKU) leader Chaduni and other farmers were then arrested.

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