The farmers had been stating that Haryana Police had blocked the highway to prevent them from proceeding on the Delhi Chalo march since February.
Members of the Punjab farmer unions, who have been sitting at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders with Haryana, since February 13 announced that they will now continue with their march to Delhi to press for their demands.
The Haryana Police had barricaded the inter-state border at Shambhu and Khanauri to deter protesting farmers from reaching the national capital.
Ramandeep Singh Mann, a member of the KKM, said, “We had never called off our Delhi Chalo call.
We will ask the authorities concerned to designate a venue in Delhi to allow us to protest peacefully.
Welcoming the Punjab and Haryana High court’s direction to Haryana Police to lift the barricade at Shambhu on the Ambala-Patiala border within a week, farmer union leaders on Wednesday said the ruling debunked the narrative created by the BJP that farmers had been blocking the national highway. The farmers had been stating that Haryana Police had blocked the highway to prevent them from proceeding on the Delhi Chalo march since February. Members of the Punjab farmer unions, who have been sitting at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders with Haryana, since February 13 announced that they will now continue with their march to Delhi to press for their demands. (HT file photo)
Members of the Punjab farmer unions, who have been sitting at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders with Haryana, since February 13 announced that they will now continue with their march to Delhi to press for their demands, including the legal guarantee to the minimum support price (MSP) for all crops.
Guramneet Singh Mangat, the convener of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KKM), said, “It (the high court decision) is a positive step. We welcome the order. We have been demanding that we be allowed to march to Delhi since February. We have already lost over two dozen farmers and hundreds have been injured in the protest so far. It was the Haryana government that had blocked the highway, not us.”
He said that the unions would meet on Thursday morning to discuss the future course of the agitation.
The Haryana Police had barricaded the inter-state border at Shambhu and Khanauri to deter protesting farmers from reaching the national capital.
Ramandeep Singh Mann, a member of the KKM, said, “We had never called off our Delhi Chalo call. We will ask the authorities concerned to designate a venue in Delhi to allow us to protest peacefully. We had requested the officials earlier also but our request was declined.”
Ambala traders relieved after judgment
Traders of Ambala welcomed the judgment as they were suffering losses due to the highway being blocked.
Vishal Batra, the president of the Ambala Cloth Market Association, said: “We were struggling as our business was on the verge of closure. We are neither against the farmers nor against the government. We were only seeking reopening of the border to Punjab.”
The association had observed a shutdown last week, demanding the reopening of the border. Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, had staged protests in support of the demand.
(With inputs by Bhavey Nagpal)
