Farmers protest: Delhi govt rejects request of police to convert stadiums into temporary prisons

New Delhi [India], November 27 : Delhi Government on Friday rejected the request made by Delhi Police seeking to convert nine stadiums into temporary prisons, in view of the 'Delhi Chalo' farmers protest.
"The demand of the farmers is legitimate. The Centre must accept the demand made by the farmers. To put them behind the jail is not the solution. Every citizen in the country has the right to protest in a non-violent way...That is why we reject the demand made by Delhi Police to convert the stadiums into makeshift jails," the Delhi government said in a statement.
This comes a day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal came out in support of Punjab farmers and their protest against the Centre's recently passed farm laws, saying that peaceful protest was a Constitutional right and the use of water cannons against them was a crime.
"All the three farming Bills (now Acts) of the Central government are anti-farmer. Instead of withdrawing these, farmers are being prevented from holding peaceful demonstrations, water cannons are being turned on them. This crime against farmers is absolutely wrong. Peaceful protest is their Constitutional right," Kejriwal had tweeted.
Meanwhile, farmers at the Tikri border near the Delhi-Bahadurgarh highway and the Singhu border.
Farmers groups, including women, continued their march towards Delhi while protesting and raising slogans on the main highway in Sirsa. Farmers are headed toward the national capital as part of their protest march against the Centre's farm laws amid heavy security deployment.
While the government said the three laws will do away with middlemen, enabling farmers to sell their produce in the commercial markets, protestors fear that this could lead to the government not buying produce at guaranteed prices, thereby disrupting their timely payments.