Punjab: Farmer leaders want miscreants who tried to create ruckus at Shambhu arrested

Farm union leaders allege miscreants backed by the Punjab and Haryana governments hatched a conspiracy to defame their agitation

Farmers protesting at the Shambhu border in Punjab’s Patiala district over various demands on Tuesday demanded that a group of people who allegedly tried to create a ruckus at the protest site be arrested.

Unruly scenes were witnessed at the Shambhu border on Sunday when some traders from Ambala, led by Wholesale Cloth Merchants’ Association chief Vishal Batra, reached the protest site asking farmer unions to vacate the highway, following which both the groups entered into heated arguments. (HT Photo)

They alleged that some miscreants backed by the Punjab and Haryana governments had hatched a conspiracy to defame their agitation.

Farmers had on Sunday alleged that a group of people tried to create ruckus and attempted to take over the stage at the protest site.

However, the other group, which included traders from Ambala, denied the charge, saying they had gone there to highlight their losses due to the Ambala-Ludhiana national highway being blocked and request the farmers to lift the blockade.

Farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.

The march was called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) to press the government to accept their demands such as a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Addressing reporters at the Shambhu border, KMM leader Dilbagh Singh Harigarh alleged that some miscreants had hatched a conspiracy to defame the farmers’ stir.

“We have not blocked any road. It is the Centre which has created obstacles on the highway,” he said, adding the farmers have been demanding since day one that the road be cleared so they can move towards Delhi.

“The miscreants were backed by the Punjab and Haryana governments and the Centre. We demand that those who tried to create a ruckus at the (protest) site should be booked and arrested,” said Harigarh.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur) leader Kaka Singh said it was not the farmers but the Haryana government which had put up blockades on the national highway to prevent them from marching to Delhi. “If the government clears the blockades today, we will go to Delhi,” he said.

He claimed that villagers from the nearby areas were supporting the farmers’ agitation.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Shaheed Bhagat Singh) president Amarjit Singh Mohri accused the state governments of hatching a conspiracy to defame and weaken the agitation.