NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday criticised the government’s handling of farmers protesting for their demands, calling the use of tear gas and other methods to suppress them “condemnable.” He urged the Centre to seriously address the farmers’ grievances and implement their demands, including a legal guarantee of the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
“Firing tear gas shells on them and trying to stop them in various ways is condemnable. The government should listen to their demands and problems seriously,” the LoP said in a post on X.
Gandhi reiterated his party’s support for the farmers, calling for measures like MSP at 1.5 times the cost of cultivation, a loan waiver, and pension schemes for farmers and labourers.
“The government should immediately implement all the demands including legal guarantee of MSP, MSP 1.5 times the comprehensive cost of cultivation as per the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission,” he said.
The Congress leader pointed to the deaths 700 farmers during the 2020-21 protests against the now-repealed farm laws, which he attributed to the “extreme insensitivity of the Modi government.”
The latest farmer protests escalated on Friday as a “jatha” 101 farmers began a foot march to Delhi from their protest site at the Shambhu border. However, they were stopped a few metres away by multilayered barricades erected by Haryana police, who cited prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
The situation turned tense as security forces used tear gas to disperse protesters attempting to cross the barricades. Some farmers were injured in the clash and were taken to hospital, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher told news agency PTI.
The Haryana government also imposed restrictions, suspending mobile internet services in 11 villages of Ambala district and banning assemblies of more than five people.
The protests, led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, aim to push for a legal guarantee of MSP and other demands, including compensation for families of farmers who died during the previous agitation.
Earlier, the district authorities in Ambala ordered the closure of schools, while water cannons and heavy security deployments were made at key protest points. Farmer leaders criticised the government’s actions, with Pandher calling the barricading and use of force a “moral victory” for the farmers.
