Farmers are not with protesters: MP Minister

Bhopal, Dec 14 (IANS): Madhya Pradesh Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Prahlad Singh Patel claimed on Saturday that farmers do not support the organisations agitating in Delhi and other adjoining states.

“Being a farmer’s leader, I am aware of farmers issues. Some people are protesting in the name of farmers, but the fact is that farmers are not with protestors. This has been proven in Haryana and Punjab today,” the minister said.

The Minister further stated that the BJP government have always thought about the welfare of the farmers.

“Whether it is Madhya Pradesh or across the country, farmers have received benefits from the BJP government. The benefits received by farmers were provided under our government,” he said.

Notably, the protesting farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders in Punjab, since February 13, after security forces stopped their attempts to proceed to Delhi.

On Saturday, Haryana Police lobbed teargas shells to disperse protesting farmers who were attempting to cross multi-layered barricades erected as a preventive step at the Shambhu border point between Punjab and Haryana.

The farmers staged the protests demanding to go to the national capital in support of their long-pending demands, including a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, loan waiver and reforms to improve conditions in the agricultural sector.