Farmer unions to meet today to contemplate change in protest site after barricades removed from Ghazipur, Tikri borders

KEY STORY 

• The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farmers’ unions, will hold an internal meeting today to decide the future course of action after Delhi Police removed barricades from Ghazipur and Tikri borders.

• During the meeting, SKM will decide whether or not they should march into Delhi or the protest site should be shifted.

• In a big relief to commuters, the Delhi Police started removing barricades from the Ghazipur and Tikri borders on October 30 with farmers sitting at the protest site for nearly a year expressing apprehension that they also might be removed.

Farmers to intensify agitation from Nov 27 if demands not met

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait has already warned that if the farmers’ demands are not met till November 26, they would pitch tents the following day across all borders of Delhi and strengthen their agitation.

“The farmers would reach the border points on tractors and trolleys and fortify the venues after pitching their tents,” Tikait warned in a post on Twitter.

This statement from Tikait comes after the Supreme Court, in its recent ruling, had held that though the farmers have all the freedom to protest, they cannot “block” the roads causing inconvenience to the public.

Protests can continue for 5 years: Rakesh Tikait

Tikait has also said that if governments can run for 5 years, then protests can also continue for 5 years.

Earlier, the BKU leader had warned the Centre of converting the government offices into “grain markets” if farmers are forcibly evicted from the protest site.

“If the farmers fail to sell their produce in mandis at a fair price, then, what better place to do so than the government offices?” Tikait said and demanded that the Centre engage in dialogue with them and repeal the farm laws.

The Union government and the protesting farmers met 11 times to resolve the issue but the talks remained inconclusive.