Chandigarh: In a dramatic turn of events, the Punjab Police detained over a dozen prominent farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, as they attempted to join protests at the Shambhu border. This move came after an inconclusive meeting with a central delegation led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The police action aimed to clear the Shambhu and Khanauri border sites, where farmers have been protesting since February last year, demanding a guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops.
The detentions of Pandher and Dallewal, along with other leaders like Abhimanyu Kohar and Kaka Singh Kotra, occurred on March 19, 2025, in Mohali. This happened after a meeting with Union ministers in Chandigarh, which failed to yield any concrete results. The farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders since February 2024, pressing for a legal guarantee on MSP among other demands.
The police dismantled temporary structures and removed farmers from the protest sites to clear the borders. Punjab Minister Harpal Singh Cheema justified the action, stating that the borders needed to be opened as the farmers’ demands are against the central government. However, opposition leaders, including Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Daljit Singh Cheema, condemned the detentions as undemocratic and a betrayal of the farmers.
The central delegation announced that the next round of talks with farmers will be held on May 4, 2025, offering a glimmer of hope for resolving the ongoing standoff. Despite the tensions, the government’s commitment to continuing dialogue suggests a path forward for addressing the farmers’ grievances.
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