Rajasthan: Police lathi charge protesting farmers in Hanumangarh

Jaipur: Amidst the ongoing farmers’ 'mahapadav' in Delhi and the Gramin Bharat Bandh called today, the police lathi charged protesting farmers in Hanumangarh district here on Friday.

The farmers were protesting at a programme where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was speaking virtually. As the protesting farmers broke barricades, the police swung into action, lathi charging the crowd to stop them from disrupting the function.

In the consequent chaos, one farmer was injured, confirmed Kisan Mahapanchayat President Rampal Jat to DH.

There were also protests in Sriganganagar district. Both the districts - Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar, which share their borders with Punjab and Haryana, are observing the Grameen Bharat Bandh today, the day-long protest which began from 6 AM. Heavy police barricading is seen on the borders.

Hanumangarh and Srigangangar are known as the 'bread baskets' of the desert state because of the fertile land and crops like paddy, wheat, mustard grow here in abundance.

Meanwhile, in a separate development, 39 farmer unions from across the state held a meeting yesterday at Karwar in Bundi district. Karwar village is the centre of 14 gram panchayats in the region.

The meeting deliberated on the need and process to bring in the MSP law and on the scheduled tractor rally on February 21. “We have the support of at least 650 tractors which would first congregate in Jaipur and then proceed to Delhi. We were aiming for 500 tractors but we seemed to have more support," said Jat.

He added that since the state also has the power to make a law on MSP, the farmers would urge Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma to accompany them to Delhi. “For this we would be submitting a memorandum to the CM today,” Jat said.

The farmers of Rajasthan have been fighting for MSP since 2010 and the campaign started from Dudu near Jaipur, which has now become a national movement.