Chandigarh, Dec 08 (UNI) Punjab police on Sunday stopped media persons at a distance from the farmers’ protest site on the Shambhu border.
Haryana DGP on Saturday had urged his counterpart in Punjab not to allow the media persons to go to the protest site along with the farmers.
Considering the “safety of media persons” they should be kept at a safe distance (1 KM away) from the protest site, as the Haryana DGP had requested.
On Sunday, the Highway Police wing of Punjab police at the Shambhu border stopped media persons 1 KM away from the protest site.
Farmer leaders alleged that BJP-led governments at Centre and Haryana and the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab were stopping the media persons to suppress the voice of farmers.
Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) had announced that a group of 100 farmers will be marching towards New Delhi on foot on Friday in support of their 12-point charter of demands including the enactment of a law to guarantee Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their produce.
Since February, farmers have been camping at Haryana-Punjab borders demanding the fulfilment of their 12-point charter of demands.
However, Haryana police stopped the march by putting barricades on the border. Police also lobbed tear gas shells and sprayed pepper on agitating farmers. A dozen farmers were reportedly injured. Later, farmer leaders postponed the march for one day and resumed it on Sunday.
Meanwhile, farmer leader Sarvan Singh Pandher told media persons that Sunday marked the 300th day of farmers’ agitation at Haryana-Punjab borders. He alleged that first, the Police did not allow the farmers to use tractor-trolleys in their rally. Now when farmers announced to march on foot and in smaller groups, still they were being stopped.
He said that on Saturday, while speaking to a Haryana police official, he even suggested providing the list of farmers to the police and they could take farmers towards New Delhi so that there would be no law and order situation. However, this suggestion was also not accepted.
Pandher said Narendra Modi government was hellbent on not allowing farmers to go to New Delhi.
He said that in these circumstances farmers will be compelled to boycott BJP leaders in Punjab. He said he had learned that Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari were supposed to visit Amritsar, if that is the case farmers of Punjab should protest the entry of these leaders to Punjab.
