Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Oct.29: Responding to the Delhi Police lifting barricades from the Ghazipur border where farmers have been protesting against the Centre’s farm regulations, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait has said, “If the roads are open, we’ll go to Delhi and sell our crop at Parliament.”
“Farmers can sell their crops wherever, according to the Prime Minister. Now we’ll advise the farmers where they can sell the produce that haven’t sold yet,” he added.
Tikait further said that the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella organisation of numerous farmer unions challenging the three farm legislation, will determine the protest’s future trajectory.
“They had raised the barriers, and now they are tearing them down. The SKM will make a decision, after which we shall proceed as planned. We’ve been sitting here for 11 months, requesting to go to Delhi. We couldn’t go since we weren’t allowed. We’ll now travel to Delhi to sell our crop. Our tractors will first travel to Delhi,” said the BKU spokesperson.
Farmers were protesting against the Centre’s three agricultural laws at the Tikri and Ghazipur borders, and Delhi Police began clearing barricades there on Thursday night.
According to the reports, JCB machines were seen clearing blockades put by the Delhi Police during a farmers’ protest near the Tikri border in Delhi, following a Supreme Court hearing that emphasised how traffic in the area was blocked by officials rather than demonstrators.
The police had built complex barricades on the roadways, along with gigantic nails and huge concrete blocks, when farmers assembled on several border crossing sites around the city in November last year to protest against the Centre’s three agricultural legislation.
The Supreme Court ruled on October 21 that farmers have the right to protest, but that roads cannot be closed continuously. This emerged during a hearing on a petition challenging a traffic closure between Delhi and Noida caused by farmers’ demonstrations against three agricultural laws.
Farmers have been protesting at various locations since November 26th, 2018 in opposition to three recently enacted farm laws: the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
Several rounds of talks between farmer leaders and the Centre have taken place, but the impasse remains.
