Farmers protesting against the Centre’s farm laws have started the “Kisan Sansad” near Jantar Mantar. Hanan Mulla has been made the “Speaker” and Manjit Singh has been made “deputy speaker”. Farmer leader Yogendra Yadav said that all the farmers are taking one turn in the farmers’ parliament. He alleged that the Delhi Police delayed the arrival at Jantar Mantar and kept the farmers moving for 2.5 hours. He told that the farmers’ parliament will run till 5 pm today. Rakesh Tikait is also at Jantar Mantar. These farmers will march to Parliament daily from today (Thursday, 22 July) and there will be farmers’ parliament. Congress MPs demonstrated in front of the Gandhi statue in the Parliament House complex, demanding the withdrawal of the agriculture law in support of the farmers.
Earlier on the way, the police was trying to count the farmers sitting in the bus, and on this issue, the farmers had a conflict with the police. After this, the police took all the farmers inside a resort, so that they could be counted. Sources in Delhi Police said that every farmer reaching Jantar Mantar will have an identity card, and will be allowed to go there only after checking. The United Kisan Morcha is giving this identity card to the farmers.
Sources said that the Red Fort incident on 26 January was a big lesson for Delhi Police. This was the reason why the high officials of Delhi Police were against allowing farmers to protest in Delhi. Approval in this case was not given till July 20. On the other hand, the Opposition parties stalled the work in Parliament from day one regarding Pegasus spyware.
Police have made heavy security arrangements at Jantar Mantar. Several companies of Delhi Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed there. Entire Delhi Police is on high alert. Farmers’ protest at Jantar Mantar will be held in coordination with United Kisan Morcha and Delhi Police.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a body of farmers’ unions protesting against the agricultural laws, said that if the monsoon session of Parliament ends on 13 August, then their protest at Jantar Mantar will also continue till 13 August. However, the Lieutenant Governor has given permission for the dharna only till 9 August. This is the first time since the violence that broke out in the national capital during a tractor rally on January 26 this year that the authorities have allowed protesting farmers’ unions into the city.
According to an order issued by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, who is also the chairman of DDMA, has given permission to organize a protest at Jantar Mantar by maximum 200 farmers every day from July 22 to August 9 from 11 am to 5 pm. “They will be brought by designated buses on designated routes under police escort and will be subjected to Covid-appropriate behavior (wearing of masks, maintaining social distancing, washing hands regularly and using sanitisers etc.) and India,” the order said. All other guidelines/instructions/SOPs issued by the Government and Government of NCT of Delhi from time to time regarding the Covid-19 pandemic shall be strictly complied with.
Adequate security arrangements will be made at Jantar Mantar, sources said. As per a DDMA order, gatherings for protests in the national capital are not currently allowed. Thousands of farmers across the country are staging a sit-in on Delhi’s borders against the three agriculture laws, claiming it will destroy the MSP system and leave them at the mercy of big corporate houses.
The government is projecting these laws as major agricultural reforms. The farmers’ unions have held more than 10 rounds of talks with the government, but they have failed to break the deadlock between the two sides. The SKM had initially proposed that the protesting farmers would hold a “Kisan Sansad” every day at Jantar Mantar, a few meters from Parliament.
After a meeting with Delhi Police officials on Tuesday, a farmer’s union leader said they would hold a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar demanding abolition of agricultural laws and no protesters would go to Parliament. The Kisan Union leader had said, “We will organize a ‘Kisan Sansad’ from July 22 till the end of the monsoon session and 200 protesters will go to Jantar Mantar every day. A speaker and a deputy speaker will be elected every day.”
The farmer leader said, “The APMC Act will be discussed in the first two days. Later, other bills will also be discussed every two days.” The tractor parade, held on January 26 to highlight the demands of farmers’ unions to repeal three new agricultural laws, turned chaotic on the streets of the capital as thousands of protesters broke barricades, clashed with police and a religious flag was hoisted on the ramparts of the Red Fort.