Barricades Put Up by Delhi Police, Not Farmers: BKU on SC's Observation

The Supreme Court on Thursday said that farmers protesting at Delhi's borders cannot block roads indefinitely.

Farmers remove barricades from a road leading to Delhi near Ghazipur border picket site after the orders of the Supreme Court in Ghaziabad.

(Photo: PTI)

Responding to an observation made by the Supreme Court on Thursday, 21 October that farmers protesting at Delhi's borders cannot block roads indefinitely, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) which is a part of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) said that Delhi police has put barricades at the protest sites and not the farmers, Economic Times reported.

Ever since November 2020, farmers have been camping at the borders surrounding the national capital to protest against the Union government's three contentious agricultural laws.

What the Supreme Court Said

"Farmers have right to protest but they cannot keep roads blocked indefinitely. You may have a right to agitate in any manner but roads should not be blocked like this. People have right to go on roads but it cannot be blocked," a Supreme Court bench stated on Thursday, news agency PTI reported.

SC had made this observation while hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by Monicca Agarwal, a Noida resident who complained about the delay in daily commute as the protesting farmers were blocking roads.

What the BKU Says

The farmers outfit also rubbished visuals and images, emerging on social media that said they were vacating tents from Delhi-Meerut Expressway (NH-9) at Ghazipur.

Saurabh Upadhyay, a spokesperson of BKU said,

We respect the Supreme Court's directive. We would also like to make it clear that it was the Delhi Police which had set up barricades at the protest site. We also demand that the Delhi police should remove them now for public welfare.

Saurabh Upadhyay said, as quoted by Economic Times

He added that farmers have not put any barricades at any protest site, be it at Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan or Uttar Pradesh. Only police have the right to put them and not farmers, Upadhyay said.

The BKU spokesperson said that they had removed just one tent that was put up on a service lane "towards Delhi on the flyover on NH 9 above the UP Gate." The barricades put up by police, he said are still present in the area.

Upadhyay said they would continue to peacefully protest at the Delhi borders until their demands are met.

(With inputs from PTI and Economic Times)