Farm Leaders In Police Custody Ahead Of Punjab Protest, Congress Moves In

Punjab's Bhagwant Mann government's breakdown of talks with farmers has created a huge opening for the state Congress to recover lost ground. This evening, Congress's former Chief Minister Charanjeet Singh Channi barged into the Gharaun police station of Chamkur Sahib when he learnt that farmer leaders were being detained ahead of today's protest rally by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha or SKM. 

Mr Channi knocked at the main gate of the police station and told the senior officers that he had come to meet the farmer leaders. 

"I have come to Gharaun police station of Chamkaur Shaib to meet our farmers leaders of our area as I learnt that they were being taken to police station so that they would not be able take their supporters to the Chandigarh protest,' he told reporters later. 

First, the Chief Minister ignored their problems and left the meeting and now when they want to hold a protest in a democratic manner, such action is being taken, he said.   

"All the farmer leaders are being taken to custody. We condemn this act of the government," he added.

Farmers have called for a week-long sit-in in Chandigarh that is expected to begin today, though the city administration is yet to allot a place for the proposed protest.

The SKM, which led the 2020 protests against farm laws, are now calling for the withdrawal of the Centre's draft of the National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing. They also want a legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) as per the Swaminathan Commission report, implementation of the state's agriculture policy, and purchase of six crops, including basmati, maize, moong and potato, at MSP by the state government.

Yesterday, talks to discuss their demands broke down midway as Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, farmer leaders said, "walked out of the meeting in a huff without any provocation". 

Mr Mann had asked the farmers to rethink their protest in view of the public inconvenience. He, however, added that his doors are always open for talks.

The Punjab Congress has severely criticized Mr Mann. State Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, in a post on X, said, "CM Sahib, Punjab's farmers are not your opponents-they are the backbone of our economy, small traders, and entire agrarian system. When farmers prosper, Punjab thrives-our markets flourish, small shopkeepers earn, and every household benefits. Yet, for over a year, they have been protesting, and one leader has even put his life at stake. The least you could do is listen. If they can't talk to their own CM, where will they go?"

CM Sahib, Punjab's farmers are not your opponents-they are the backbone of our economy, small traders, and entire agrarian system. When farmers prosper, Punjab thrives-our markets flourish, small shopkeepers earn, and every household benefits.

Yet, for over a year, they have...

— Amarinder Singh Raja Warring (@RajaBrar_INC) March 4, 2025

Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa posted, "It is highly deplorable that the @AAPPunjab govt is raiding the locations of farm union leaders to stop them from staging a protest on March 5 in Chandigarh. Isn't CM @BhagwantMann turning Punjab into a dictatorial state? Punjab is an agriculture-dominated state. It is very unfortunate for Punjab to have a CM, who is not even ready to listen to the woes of the farmers and farm labourers. Mann seems to have reached a new height of arrogance. @ArvindKejriwal should consider ousting Mann as CM and appoint some sincere and sophisticated person to the CM's post".