Hundreds of farmers reach Delhi to take part in 'mahapanchayat'; many detained at Ghazipur

Leaders of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha claimed at some locations, farmers were being stopped from reaching Jantar Mantar, a claim denied by the Delhi Police.

Published: 22nd August 2022 12:12 PM  |   Last Updated: 22nd August 2022 04:26 PM   |  A+A-

Delhi farmers protest

Farmers shouting slogans during their protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Monday. (Photo | Shekhar Yadav, EPS)

By Agencies

NEW DELHI: Hundreds of farmers from different states started reaching Delhi amid heavy security arrangements to participate in a 'mahapanchayat' called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) at Jantar Mantar on Monday.

SKM Leaders claimed at some locations, farmers were being stopped from reaching Jantar Mantar, a claim denied by the Delhi Police.

As many as 19 farmers, en route to Jantar Mantar to participate in the farmers' Mahapanchayat, were detained by Delhi Police at the Ghazipur border, when they decided to head towards Jantar Mantar.

According to police, to avoid any untoward incident, they took the protesters to a nearby police station by bus.

"The mahapanchayat is a one day-long peaceful event where we will reiterate our demands such as a legal guarantee on MSP and cancellation of Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 among others," said Abhimanyu Singh Kohar, SKM (non-political) member and organiser of the 'mahapanchayat'.

He, however, added that the police is yet to give permission for the 'mahapanchayat' at Jantar Mantar.

ALSO WATCH |

Kohar also said that farmers coming from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were stopped last night and not allowed to reach Jantar Mantar. They were taken to Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, Rakabganj, and Moti Bagh, and later released, he said.

Kohar said farmers from Punjab, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and some parts of Haryana have reached Delhi and more are coming to take part in the 'mahapanchayat'. He said earlier during the farmers' movement, the central government had promised to consider all our demands but they did "nothing".

"So here we are again to discuss and raise our demands and chalk out future strategy of the movement," Kohar said.

In November 2020, thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh had camped at border points around Delhi against Centre's three farm laws, which were repealed a year later.

The farmers had suspended their movement in December last year after the Centre assured them to consider their other demands concerning legal guarantee on MSP, withdrawal of cases against them among others.

(With PTI, IANS inputs)


India Matters

Comments

Disclaimer : We respect your thoughts and views! But we need to be judicious while moderating your comments. All the comments will be moderated by the newindianexpress.com editorial. Abstain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks. Try to avoid outside hyperlinks inside the comment. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines.

The views expressed in comments published on newindianexpress.com are those of the comment writers alone. They do not represent the views or opinions of newindianexpress.com or its staff, nor do they represent the views or opinions of The New Indian Express Group, or any entity of, or affiliated with, The New Indian Express Group. newindianexpress.com reserves the right to take any or all comments down at any time.