On Monday, Indian police took measures to block roads and impede farmers’ march towards New Delhi. The farmers seek improved crop prices, which were assured to them in 2021 during a prolonged protest when thousands of growers occupied major highways leading to the capital.
To prevent a recurrence of the year-long protest, government ministers are slated to meet with farm union leaders on Monday. The previous protest aimed to compel the government to revoke farm laws designed to deregulate extensive agricultural markets.
The march occurs just months before India’s national elections, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely expected to secure a third term. India’s vast farming community holds significant electoral influence, prompting political parties to work towards maintaining their support.
Television footage depicted farmers driving tractors from the northern states of Punjab and Haryana towards Delhi, with barriers such as barbed wire fencing and cement blocks erected at the city’s edges to impede their progress. In response, police issued orders prohibiting public gatherings in Delhi.
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Farmers are mobilizing in response to a call by union leaders, demanding higher support prices or guaranteed rates for their produce. They aim to hold the government accountable for its promise to double farmers’ income.
Sarvan Singh Pandher, the general secretary of the Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, stated, “We will move peacefully, and our objective is for the government to heed our demands.”
While the government announces support prices for over 20 crops annually to establish benchmarks, state agencies typically purchase rice and wheat at the support level, benefiting only about 6 percent of farmers cultivating these two crops. In 2021, following the farmers’ protests, Modi’s administration repealed the contentious farm laws and pledged to establish a panel comprising growers and government officials to explore methods of ensuring support prices for all agricultural produce.