Haryana Police used tear gas and force to halt Punjab farmers’ march at the Shambhu border, prompting the Congress to condemn the BJP government’s “undemocratic actions”.
Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Friday slammed the BJP-led Haryana government for deploying excessive police force and firing tear gas shells to prevent farmers from Punjab from ‘peacefully’ marching to Delhi.
The group of 101 farmers, known as Marjeevda Jatha, began their footmarch to the national capital to demand the legalisation of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and other issues concerning farmers’ welfare.
Their peaceful march was disrupted at the Shambhu border by what Bajwa, the Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly, described as “Haryana Police’s cruelty”.
“Since yesterday, heavy police deployment has been made at critical points by the Haryana government. Tear gas shells were fired at farmers who had simply begun their march to Delhi as scheduled. Several farmers have been injured in this barbaric action,” Bajwa said condemning the incident.
The Congress leader also accused the Haryana government, led by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, of following in the footsteps of the previous Manohar Lal Khattar administration by attempting to suppress farmers’ protests.
He labelled the actions as “highly undemocratic” and an affront to citizens’ constitutional rights.
“The farmers are not staging their protest in Haryana; they are only passing through the state to reach Delhi. It raises questions about why the Haryana government is so perturbed by this,” Bajwa said.
He also emphasised that every Indian citizen has the right to peaceful protest, especially in the national capital, and decried the BJP government’s actions as “autocratic and deplorable”.
Bajwa highlighted the broader impact of the farmers’ demands, stating that the legalisation of MSP would benefit not only farmers in Punjab but also those across the country, including Haryana, who are facing severe financial distress.
“The Haryana government must realise that this is not a regional issue. Legalising MSP would provide much-needed relief to farmers nationwide,” he added.