Farmers Protest
Anurag Aggarwal, Chandigarh. Even though the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the opening of the Shambhu border near Ambala, it is not easy for the Haryana government to comply with the order. The Haryana government fears that if the road is cleared by removing the barricades, the farmers of Punjab may again march towards Delhi.
The government has reports that as soon as the barricades are removed, the agitating farmers will insist on marching towards Delhi in tractor-trolleys instead of their personal vehicles. If this happens, it will be difficult for the Haryana government to handle the law-and-order situation and barricades may have to be installed again at the Shambhu border.
Anyway, there are assembly elections in Haryana in the month of October. During this time, the government is discussing all kinds of options to avoid any unpleasant situation. The government has two main options.
The Punjab government will have to negotiate with the agitating farmers
The first is to negotiate with the Punjab government and persuade the agitating farmers not to march towards Delhi. If the farmers want to go to Delhi, they should leave by buses, cars or trains. For this, the Punjab government will have to negotiate with the agitating farmers. They will have to be persuaded to go to the central government for talks as a delegation instead of in groups, which does not seem easy to accept.
This is the option before the Haryana government
The second option before the Haryana government is to approach the Supreme Court against the High Court order. For this, the government is also taking the opinion of the Advocate General. It can go to the Supreme Court and argue that since the law-and-order situation is a matter of any state, the decision to remove or not remove the barricades should be left to the state government.
The government will also argue that if the road is opened by removing the barricades and the farmers do not give up their insistence on going to Delhi, then the removed barricades will have to be re-installed. In such a situation, the law-and-order situation will deteriorate again. Chief Minister Naib Saini has asked the police and security officials to understand and explain the entire situation by talking to the officials of Punjab in this regard. The opinion of Advocate General Baldev Raj Mahajan is also being taken.
Farmer organizations engaged in making new strategy regarding Shambhu Border
The farmers, who have been sitting on dharna at Shambhu border for months, are busy making new strategies after the order of the High Court. Farmer organizations have said that they will take a decision by holding a joint meeting on July 13, but it is believed that they will march peacefully towards Delhi after the opening of Shambhu Border. Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said that he will hold a meeting in Khanauri (Sangrur) on Friday.
Appealed to remove the tents installed on the road
He said that the SIT will visit Khanauri on July 17. In such a situation, if anyone has a video of the incident of Shubkaran being shot, then he should make it available so that it can be handed over to the SIT. He has issued an audio message appealing to the farmers to remove the tents set up on the road. Meanwhile, Shubkaran’s sister Gurpreet Kaur joined the job of constable in Punjab Police on Thursday. She has been posted in the police line so that her police training can be completed.