Thousands of protesting farmers were stopped at the Delhi-UP border on 2 October, with the police using water cannons and tear gas shells to disperse them.

Rajnath Singh Meets Protesting Farmers, ‘Agrees’ on Most Issues

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Thousands of farmers, marching as part of the 'Kisan Kranti Padyatra', were stopped at the Delhi-UP border on Tuesday, 2 October, with the police using water cannons and tear gas shells to disperse them.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh met the farmers' leaders to discuss their demands, and has reached an agreement on majority of the issues, Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said. Shekhawat will also be meeting the farmers, along with UP ministers Laxmi Narayan and Suresh Rana.

Among the demands raised by farmers, protesting under the banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), are implementation of the MS Swaminathan Commission report, farm loan waiver, free electricity to farmers and allowing power connections to farmers to run tubewells.

  • Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury and SP’s Akhilesh Yadav expressed solidarity with the protesting farmers
  • “Why have we been stopped at the UP-Delhi border. The rally was proceeding in a disciplined manner,” said Naresh Tikait, president of BKU
  • Prohibitory orders were reportedly been issued by the Delhi police in east and north-east Delhi in light of the march

Farmers Can’t Even Express Their Pain in the National Capital: Rahul Gandhi

Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to slam the Modi government over the police action against the protesting farmers at the UP-Delhi border, saying:

“On the World 'Ahimsa' Day, the BJP's Gandhi Jayanti programme began with peaceful Delhi-bound farmers being brutally beaten up. Now, farmers can't even express their pain by coming to the national capital!”

Rajnath Singh Speaks to Farmer Leaders on the Protest: Reports

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has spoken with the farmer leaders of the BKU regarding the protest, which were stopped at the UP-Delhi border on Tuesday, media reports said.

'Modi Govt is Anti-Farmers': Sitaram Yechury

Responding to the police action against protesting farmers at the UP-Delhi border, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said "it reconfirms the fact that the Modi government is anti-farmers."

“Instead of providing relief to farmers, they are exasperating the crisis further, forcing farmers to be under debt burden and distress suicides. We haven’t seen such an agrarian distress in India since independence [sic].”
Sitaram Yechury

'Why Have We Been Stopped?': BKU president

Asking why the protesting farmers were stopped at the UP-Delhi border, Bharatiya Kisan Union president Naresh Tikait told ANI:

The rally was proceeding in a disciplined manner. If we don’t tell our government about our problems then whom do we tell? Do we go to Pakistan or Bangladesh?
Naresh Tikait, president, BKU

'Modi Govt No Different from Pre-Independence British Govt': Congress

Slamming the Modi government over the handling of the farmers' protest at the Delhi border on Tuesday, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said:

“On the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Modi government has shown that it is no different from the pre-independence British government in India. British government then used to exploit the farmers and today the Modi govt is firing tear gas shells at farmers.”
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala
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