Lagatar24 Desk
Kurukshetra, June 12: Farmers in Haryana’s Kurukshetra stopped the National Highway (NH) to Delhi with their tractors in a show of protest against the state’s decision to forgo purchasing of sunflower seeds at the minimum support price (MSP) following a maha panchayat on Monday.
At the national highway, the protesting farmers made demands, including MSP for sunflower seed. In the Kurukshetra district, they had assembled on the flyover close to Pipli.
Wrestler Bajrang Punia was present during the maha panchayat in addition to other significant farmer leaders, such as Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait. Punia is one of the top wrestlers calling for action against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, president of the Wrestlers Federation of India (WFI).
The Delhi-Chandigarh National Highway saw traffic disruptions after the maha panchayat in Kurukshetra.
The farmers who staged the protests said that the state government was not purchasing sunflower seeds at MSP and that they were therefore obliged to sell their crop to private buyers at a price of about Rs 4,000 per quintal as opposed to the MSP of Rs 6,400. They requested that the government purchase sunflower seeds at the MSP of Rs. 6,400 per quintal.
Earlier, the Delhi-Amritsar National Highway was blocked by farmers in Kurukshetra on June 6 when their requests were not met. To clear the road, the police lathi-charged the crowd.
Nine BKU (Charuni) leaders including the president were later arrested on charges of rioting and unlawful assembly, among other charges.
