Opposition MPs charge police of stopping them from meeting protesting farmers

A delegation of 15 Opposition MPs, belonging to 10 political parties except the Congress, which tried to meet farmers protesting at the Ghazipur border claimed that they were not allowed to enter because of the restrictions imposed by the Delhi Police.

Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur said, “The Centre has not allowed us to raise the issue in Parliament. Now, they are not allowing us to meet farmers.” Kaur who was formerly the Food Processing Minister in the BJP government, resigned last year in protest against the farm reform laws.

The delegation also included members of the DMK, CPI(M), NCP, Trinamool Congress and other Opposition members. The Ghazipur border is cordoned off by police personnel from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MPs belonging to these 10 parties wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah saying that Police is denying basic amenities to the protesters. They urged his intervention to address the situation. “More than 150 farmers lost their lives in the numbing cold weather. Till now the government has not considered their demand of withdrawing the three farm laws passed in the last session of Parliament,” they said in the letter. It added that some unfortunate incidents happened during the tractor parade of January 26, but farmers have denounced it and the violence was perpetrated by some agent provocateurs. “But now in the guise of the violence that occurred on 26th, government is trying to distort the protest and disperse the farmers using force. In many protest places, police manhandled protesters and cut the electricity and water supply.”

They alleged that pro-government groups are attacking the farmers every day. “These are very unfortunate and we request you to urgently intervene and do the needful for withdrawing police action against farmers, restore the electricity, water and other amenities in the protest spots and take strict actions against those groups who are trying to perpetrate violence,” the letter said.