Farmers protesting against the Haryana government’s decision not to buy sunflower seeds at the minimum support price (MSP), on Tuesday blocked the National Highway-44 near Shahbad in Kurukshetra district, following which the police resorted to baton-charge and sprayed water cannon to clear the blockage.
Led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) president Gurnam Singh Charuni, hundreds of farmers laid seize to the Delhi-Chandigarh highway around 1pm by breaking police barricades and parking their tractor-trailers laden with sunflower seed, despite heavy police deployment. Several farmers were subsequently detained, police said.
Kurukshetra superintendent of police (SP) Surinder Singh Bhoria said that most of the farmers were released later in the day. “Only eight farmer leaders, including Gurnam Singh Charuni, are in the custody of the police,” the SP said.
The police had to use mild force to remove farmers after repeated requests made to them to remove the blockade failed to yield any result, he added. “The movement of traffic on the highway has been restored and the situation is under control.”
However, farmer leaders condemned police action on protesters, claiming at least 50 of them were injured.
BKU (Charuni) leader Sanju Gundiana said the farmers were protesting peacefully for their right to get the MSP fixed by the Union government. “But the police beat up the farmers mercilessly and also targeted elderly. Around 50 farmers are injured. But the government cannot suppress this protest by using police force and the call has been given to intensify the protests by blocking highways in the state,” he said.
BKU leader Rakesh Tikait also slammed the police action on farmers. “The use of force by the Haryana police on the farmers protesting in Kurukshetra, is a condemnable action. Police should immediately release the arrested farmers and farmer leaders, otherwise we will be ready for agitation,” he tweeted.
The farmers were demanding procurement of sunflower seed at the fixed MSP of ₹6,400 per quintal. They alleged that they are being forced to sell their produce to private buyers at ₹4,000 a quintal against the MSP of ₹6,400.
On May 30, the BJP-led Haryana government issued a notice declaring that sunflower seeds and bajra have been included in the list of crops covered under the Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana (BBY), under which ₹1,000 per quintal is provided to farmers for selling their produce to private buyers. Crops under the BBY are not procured by government agencies on MSP.
Due to the blockade on the highway, commuters faced long traffic jams in Kurukshetra and Shahabd, prompting authorities to divert the traffic via link roads.
