Punjab: Farmers Prepare To March To Delhi As Shambhu Border Remains Closed; AAP Criticizes Govt For Defying HC Order

Chandigarh: The farmers would head towards Delhi whenever the Shambhu border near Ambala on the Delhi-Amritsar national highway – also called GT road – is opened, farmer leaders said on Tuesday.

While briefing newspersons here, the farm leaders including Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said that the farmers had decided to fight till the end for their demands.

Dallewal's statement comes a week after the Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the Haryana government on July 10 to open the barricades at the Shambhu border ``experimental basis’’. The court had also asked the Punjab government to ensure that farmers camping on the said site were duly controlled as and when the situation so required.

The high court directions came on a bunch of petitions filed on the issues pertaining to farmers’ protest and against the blockade on the highway.

While farmers have to this date been camping at the said site since February 13, the Haryana government has moved the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order citing the issue pertaining to law and order situation.

It may be recalled that the Haryana government had heavily barricades and put up cement blocks at the said Patiala (Punjab)-Ambala (Haryana) border site on the national highway and the state police and security forces thwarted the said tractor march taken out by farmers led by SKM and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM).

Stating that the farmers would move towards Delhi as a part of their ``Delhi chalo’’ tractor march to press for their various demands including minimum support price (MSP) for crops, Dallewal said the farmers had decided to move towards Delhi whenever the highway is opened and were determined to continue their protest till their demands are met.

HARYANA NOT RESPECTING HC ORDER: AAP

Meanwhile, Haryana Aam Aadmi Party’s senior state vice president Anurag Dhanda flayed the Haryana government on the issue of not opening the Shambhu border despite the order of the high court.

Addressing newspersons here on Tuesday, he said the high court had ordered in favour of opening the Shambhu border and Khanauri border. The high court had ordered to open the border in 7 days on July 10. ``But it is a matter of great shame that the BJP government of Haryana is not ready to respect the order of the High Court. Today the border remains closed for the seventh day and police force is deployed’’, he said.