Delhi Police, Farmers Hold Meet Ahead of Planned Protests at Parliament

SKM has planned daily protests with around 200 farmers to be held outside Parliament during the Monsoon Session.

Image of protesting farmers used for representation.

(Photo: PTI)

The Delhi Police on Sunday, 18 July, held a meeting with the farmers near the Singhu border, ahead of their planned protest at the Parliament starting 22 July.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of over 40 farmer unions, had announced on 15 July, that farmers from 22 states will participate in “peaceful” protests planned outside Parliament starting from 22 July to continue their demand of scrapping the three contentious farm laws and for a legal guarantee on MSP.

SKM has planned that daily protests with around 200 farmers will be held outside Parliament during the Monsoon Session, which is scheduled to commence on 19 July, news agency PTI reported.

According to The Indian Express, at the meeting, which reportedly lasted 45 minutes, five senior Delhi Police officers met farmer leaders and suggested venues other than outside the Parliament for their protest.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has written to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), asking it to maintain extra vigil at Janpath, Lok Kalyan Marg, Patel Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Central Secretariat, Mandi House and Udyog Bhawan metro stations, reported PTI. The letter also asked the DMRC to close the stations if needed in view of the protests.

A statement from the SKM said that a nine-member committee of the body met with the Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police on Sunday.

"The Delhi Police was assured that the farmers' movement has no plans of laying siege to the Parliament or forcibly entering it," the statement said, according to news agency ANI.

"Meanwhile, preparations for parliamentary protests are in full swing in SKM contingents. 200-350 farmers from different states will hold protests on each working day of the Parliament. SKM has also formed a committee for this purpose. The list of farmers is being prepared," the SKM added in their statement.

A large number of farmers from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan, besides Punjab and Haryana, will participate in the protest.

Moreover, special marches by women on 26 July and 9 August will also see huge participation from across India, including the northeastern states, SKM said.

(With inputs from ANI, PTI and The Indian Express.)