Farmers to observe 'Prarthna Diwas Ardas Dihada' at Shambhu Border tomorrow
Dec 10, 2024
Shambhu border (Punjab) [India], December 10 : Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher announced that farmers will observe "Prarthna Diwas Ardas Dihada" at the Shambhu Border on Wednesday, as part of their ongoing protest.
He further informed that a group of 101 farmers, will march towards Delhi on December 14.
"We are celebrating Prarthna Diwas Ardas Dihada at the border tomorrow, and we are inviting the whole country to pray for the success of this march. Jattha of 101 farmers will March towards Delhi on December 14 from the Shambhu border," Pandher told ANI today.
He also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Haryana saying that the PM was in Haryana but he didn't speak about farmers.
"The Prime Minister was in Haryana but he didn't speak about farmers. Modi government is proud of its power...they do not want to talk to farmers. If they have done something for agriculture, they should speak up," he said.
PM Modi on Monday formally unveiled the LIC Bima Sakhi Yojana, aimed at empowering women with financial awareness and making them insurance agents in Haryana's Panipat.
This initiative of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is designed to empower women aged 18-70 years, who are Class X pass.
During the programme, the Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of the Main campus of Maharana Pratap Horticultural University, Karnal. The main campus and six regional research stations, spread over 495 acres, will be established at a cost of over Rs 700 crore.
Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini slammed the Congress and the opposition parties on the issue of minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Responding to the Congress's claim of support to farmers and its promise to give MSP to farmers, Saini said that the Congress governments in Himachal and Telangana had failed to buy crops at MSP.
"In the last 10 years, we have bought crops on MSP. The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana cannot say that they will buy crops on 100 per cent MSP. People have understood their reality. In a month, AAP will also start talking about the EVMs. People have rejected them," Saini said.
The Haryana Chief Minister's comments came amidst continued protests by farmers at the Haryana Punjab border. The farmers are asking for a charter of 12 demands including MSP for crops to be met by the state and Union governments. Farmer leader Swaran Singh Pandher had said that the farmers are unhappy with both the BJP and the INDIA bloc leaders.
"Be it the INDIA alliance or the ruling BJP government, the farmers are not happy with either of them. The farmers have different issues and the youth have their separate issues," he had said.
"To relieve the anger, they (government) are giving false promises of MSP (Minimum Support Price), that they will give. But our task is not just about giving MSP alone, but that after announcing MSP you don't buy the crops from mandis. Our demand is getting the crops to be bought, " the farmer leader told ANI.
Tensions escalated at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border, where police used tear gas to block farmers attempting to march to Delhi. Pandher had earlier accused the Punjab government of siding with the central government to suppress the protest.
Opposition leaders have slammed the government's handling of the situation, highlighting issues faced by farmers, such as fertilizer shortages and the MSP.