Farmer leaders have called off the Delhi Chalo protest till February 29, for reasons that are yet to be ascertained, adding that there has been no proposal by the government that would suit the demands of the farmers.
Earlier today, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) observed "Black Friday" on February 23 after the death of a farmer at Khanauri Border during the ongoing protest. The announcement was made by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait.
Singh (21), a native of Bathinda, was killed, and 12 police personnel were injured in clashes at Khanauri border point on the Punjab-Haryana border on Wednesday. The incident took place when some protesting farmers were trying to head towards barricades.
At that time, the 'Delhi Chalo' march was halted by the protesting farmers for 2 days to assess the current situation at the Shambhu border in Haryana.
The farmers were also scheduled to carry out tractor rallies on the highways marching towards the national capital on February 26, to be followed by a Mahapanchayat at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on March 14.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee on Friday criticized the Punjab government for its failure to lodge an FIR concerning the demise of the farmer.
"Talks were being held with the Punjab Government on the death of Shubhkaran Singh. All our demands were accepted, that a case under Section 302 (murder) be filed against those who attacked, that the Punjab Government give the status of 'martyr' to Shubhkaran Singh, that discussions on compensation be held with his family, and that a Board will be constituted for his postmortem and its videography will be done," said Sarwan Singh Pandher, the general secretary of Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee.
The Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore and a government job for the sister of Shubhkaran, which was denied by the deceased's family, saying that they wanted justice instead.
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