Arrest of farmer leaders, tension in Punjab; Has the AAP government forgotten its promises?
#News Bureau March 19,2025
The police has taken major action against the farmers’ movement in Punjab. On Wednesday, the Punjab Police detained more than 200 farmers, including farmer leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher. The incident took place when the farmers were marching towards Khanauri and Shambhu border, where the protesting farmers have been camping since February 13 last year. During this, they also clashed with the security forces. The police removed the tents of the farmers camped on the Punjab Haryana border late at night. The opposition is cornering the AAP government of Punjab, which promised to fulfill the demands of the farmers during the elections, on this issue and raising many questions.
Dallewal and Pandher were detained in Mohali, while 200 farmers were stopped at the Khanauri border. Farmers are also being detained late at night at the Shambhu border and tents are being removed. After the clash, internet services were suspended in Khanauri border and nearby Sangrur and Patiala districts. The police deployed additional forces at the Khanauri border to control the situation. An X user has shared a video in which the DIG of Punjab Police can be heard saying, ‘Orders have been given by the government, the farmers’ protest will be lifted 101% from the Khanauri border, we do not want to use force, we request you to cooperate with the police.
Let us tell you that during the day, a group of farmers in Mohali was moving towards Khanauri and Shambhu border after a meeting with the central delegation in Chandigarh. The police tried to stop them by putting up barricades, after which there was a clash between the two sides. During this, apart from Dallewal and Pandher, other farmer leaders like Abhimanyu Kohar and Kaka Singh Kotra were also detained.
Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s name has been prominent in this movement. He fasted for 54 days in January and refused to take treatment until the government’s demand for a legal guarantee of minimum support price for 24 crops was met. Farmers have been camping at Khanauri and Shambhu border since February 13 last year, when they were stopped from marching to Delhi. Their key demands include legal guarantee of MSP, loan waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases against farmers, justice to victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, restoration of the Land Acquisition Act 2013, and compensation to the families of farmers killed in the 2020-21 agitation.
What is the result of the Centre-farmer talks?
The latest meeting between farmer leaders and the central delegation in Chandigarh also remained inconclusive. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Consumer Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal were present in this meeting which lasted more than three hours. Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian were also present. Chouhan said that the talks will continue and the next meeting will be held on May 4. However, no concrete decision could be taken on the demands of the farmers.
The opposition targeted the Aam Aadmi Party government of Punjab over this incident. Former Chief Minister and Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi alleged that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is planning a major action against the farmers in connivance with the Center.
Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said Mann has ‘lost his mental balance’. She criticised him over Dallewal’s detention. Badal said, ‘During the elections, Mann had promised to fulfill all the demands of the farmers, but after forming the government, he is lying. No one is safe in Punjab.’
The farmers’ agitation and police action in Punjab once again highlight the deep distrust between the government and farmers. Their demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP, have remained unheard for a long time, leading to rising tensions. Lack of coordination between the central and state governments and allegations by the opposition are further complicating the situation.
