• Source:JND
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Farmers' Protest: After farmer called off the 'Jatha' following injuries to over eight farmers, Punjab and Haryana police met with farmer leaders in Rajpura on Sunday to discuss concerns over the ongoing farmers' protest. Tensions escalated at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border, where police used tear gas to block farmers attempting to march to Delhi.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher had earlier accused the Punjab government of siding with the central government to suppress the protest. Opposition leaders slammed the government's handling of the situation, highlighting issues faced by farmers, such as fertilizer shortages and the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

The farmers have suspended their "Delhi chalo" march for the day after some of them suffered injuries due to the gas shells at the Shambhu along the Punjab-Haryana border. According to the farmer leader from Punjab, Sarwan Singh Pandher, at least eight farmers were injured, and one of them was rushed to the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh.

"We have called back the 'jatha' (group of 101 farmers)," he told reporters.

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He also added that the farmers would decide their next course of action after a meeting of their forums—the Samyuka Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. The 'jatha' resumed its foot march from the farmers' Shambhu protest site earlier in the afternoon but was soon halted by multilayered barricading erected by Haryana security personnel.

The tear gas shells were lobbed at the protesting farmers, and water jets were used as well to disperse them after they reached the barricades. Earlier, the Ambala police had said that the farmers' outfits may march to Delhi only after getting permission from the national capital administration.

The group, dubbed as 'marjeevras' (someone willing to die for a cause), was marching for a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price before being stopped only a few metres away.

Meanwhile, a petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Centre and others to immediately clear the blockage of national and state highways in Punjab where farmers are staging protests.

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The plea, filed in the apex court by a social activist hailing from Punjab, also sought directions to the Centre and others to remove restrictions on farmers' protests and to ensure that national highways and railway tracks are not blocked by the agitating farmers.

It has alleged that farmers' and farmer unions have blocked the entire national and state highways in Punjab permanently and for an indefinite period.

As per the cause list of December 9 uploaded on the apex court website, a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant is slated to hear the plea.

(With Agency Inputs)