Aggrieved with the ‘anti-farm laws,’ farmers flock towards Delhi and Noida from the State of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana.
Thousands of farmers gathered at Noida Highway, bringing traffic to a halt. The security officials had to take stringent measures to discourage the farmers from moving towards Delhi in such large numbers. The ‘March to Delhi,’ also known as ‘Delhi Kooch,’ was dealt with heavy resistance by the police through the deployment of barricades, barbed wires, and container trucks.
The farmers have warned the state that if the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, does not cooperate and serve them due justice, then the protests are likely to erupt and intensify in the few days to come. The community of farmers is ever determined to fight for justice out loud this time. Punjab-Haryana Shambhu Border has been witnessing numerous camps by the farmers that are yet to march to Delhi on December 6th so that their demands be met by the state and the courts.
The root cause of farmer protests
Back in 2021, farmers started a widespread protest against the enactment of three farm laws for which the farmers blamed the government for acting arbitrarily and unjustly towards the cause of the farmers and their unions. The three laws—the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020; the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020—were later repealed after receiving severe criticism and opposition from the farmers and their unions nationwide.
The farmers claimed that the enactment of such despotic laws and policies would deprive them of benefits they receive from the government, thereby mitigating the involvement of the government to nullity towards the interest of the farmers. They expressed a strong belief that such laws would deprive them of their basic rights in their profession for leading a life of dignity without being persecuted by big private businesses.
The farmers seem to be unflinching until their demands are met by the State and the Central Government. They have made several demands, such as Minimum Support Price Guarantee (MSP), Debt Waiver, Land Acquisition Compensation, Withdrawal from World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreements, Justice for Lakhimpur Kheri Violence, Pension for farmers and farm labourers, Scrapping of the Electricity Amendment Bill 2020, Compensation for lives lost during the agitation in 2020 – 2021, MGNREGA Employment, National Commission for Spices, Protection of Indigenous People’s Rights, and improvement in seed quality.
Supreme Court urges farmers not to disrupt traffic
While addressing a Habeas Corpus petition for farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, the Hon’ble Supreme Court urged him to persuade farmers to not disrupt traffic and to remain peaceful
