Police stop farmers in Hisar from marching towards Delhi

The Hisar police on Friday stopped farmers, who had started a foot march from Hisar to Delhi. The police stopped farmers near Chikanwas village in Hisar and detained nearly a dozen farmer leaders.
The activists under the banner of the Pagri Sambhal Sangharsh Samiti had kicked-off the foot march and were moving towards Delhi to take part in a mahapanchayat at Ram Lila ground called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on March 14.
Condemning the incident, SKM senior leader Inderjit Singh claimed that chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar is adopting a dual policy.
“He asked the farmers to hold protests without tractor-trailers and today police detained farmers from moving towards Delhi on foot. We criticise the Hisar police for taking some activists into custody and curbing the peaceful movement which was a fundamental right of citizens,” he added.
Singh said that they will convene an emergency meeting of the state body of the SKM and contact the national leadership to plan the next course of action for the restoration of the movement of farmers to make the March 14 event a big success.
Khaps ask all unions to join hands
Nearly 80 khaps in the state have urged both the factions of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha to come under one banner, otherwise they will boycott them and fight the farmers’ battle on their own.
Dhankar Khap chief Om Parkash Dhankar said that the khaps have decided to hold dharnas along with farmers in 10 districts where they had huge influence.
“We have decided to hold multiple pucca morchas in Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonepat, Jind, Hisar, Panipat, Charkhi Dadri, Bhiwani, Kaithal and Fatehabad. If the government won’t accept farmers’ demands, we will not allow BJP-JJP leaders to enter our villages to seek votes,” he added.
He further said that the khaps have decided to unite both SKM factions and if they fail to do so, the khaps will fight the farmers’ battle, besides boycotting these leaders.
Ambala police warn farmers from taking part in Rail Roko
Two days ahead of the proposed “Rail Roko andolan” by farmer unions on the Punjab border, the Ambala Police on Friday issued a warning to the protesters from taking part in the agitation.
In a statement, the Ambala police said that Section 144 of the CrPc is in place already, which prohibits gathering of five or more people.
“In this regard, the public is warned not to participate in the farmers’ movement during the possible Rail Roko/Delhi Chalo march. If any person is found deliberately gathering or participating in a group of five or more during this movement, they will be prosecuted under the law and might face jail,” it said.
In view of the possible protest, the police said that the Railway administration is also implementing Section 144 of CrPC to ensure that there is no disruption in their operations.