While thousands of farmers continue to camp at the Punjab-Haryana border, hundreds of rallies, dharnas, and marches have been taken out in their support in several parts of the country.
Participants of the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march seek legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) among a slew of demands. Farmers from Punjab, with hundreds of tractors and trollies, have been protesting at Shambhu and Khanauri at the Haryana border since February 13 when they were stopped by police who had placed concrete barriers, containers, and installed iron nails to bar their entry.
According to data compiled by India Today through local media reports and social media posts, a maximum of 240 protests were held in different districts of Punjab, followed by Haryana at 13, and nine in western and central Uttar Pradesh following the launch of the march.
A group of Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Nityanand Rai, and Arjun Munda held four rounds of meetings with protesting farmer leaders in Chandigarh.
Farmers’ groups announced putting their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on halt till February 21 after the government proposed to bring three crops under the MSP regime through central agencies for five years.
Meanwhile, several groups of farmers, labourers, and civil organisations have carried out marches and rallies and held dharnas at hundreds of places in many parts of India to extend solidarity to the protesters. In some states, members of some political parties have also staged demonstrations in support.