Arvind Kejriwal To Visit Farmers' Protest Site, Second Time In A Month

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will today visit the Singhu border point between Delhi and Haryana, which is one of the spots where thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana, and other states have been camped for over a month in protest against three central agricultural laws.

During his visit around 6pm, Mr Kejriwal will take part in singing of hymns to mark the two-day "Shaheedi Diwas" being organised by the Delhi government's Punjabi Academy at the Guru Tej Bahadur Memorial erected at Singhu. Shaheedi Diwas is observed to mark the martyrdom and sacrifice of the ninth Sikh Guru.

The Delhi Chief Minister had earlier, too, visited the memorial where his government has made food and sanitary arrangements for the farmers.

The last time he was at the spot, the first time any Chief Minister had visited it, he had said, "I haven't come here as CM but as a 'sevadar'. Farmers are in trouble today, we should stand with them."

Mr Kejriwal is among the several opposition leaders who have extended support for the farmers' protest. The farmers have held several rounds of talks with the government till now, though all mostly fruitless.

The new laws, aimed at doing away with middlemen and allowing farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country, has deeply upset the farmers. The farmers say it will only result in phasing out of the traditional mandis and the guaranteed minimum price paid by the government, leaving them at the mercy of the corporates.