Farmers Protest: Traffic resumes at Shambhu border, Khanauri after a year, protesting farmers detained by Punjab Police

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda condemned the "forcible ending of the farmers' protest by the Punjab government".

A day after Punjab Police detained protesting farmers and demolished their temporary structures, traffic resumed on the Shambhu-Ambala Highway on Thursday after more than a year, and Khanauri border point is also set to open, with Haryana Police removing roadblocks on their side of the road.

The road clearance exercise at the protest venues at Shambhu and Khanauri was undertaken even as angry farmers hit the streets at several places in Punjab including Moga, Tarn Taran, Muktsar and Faridkot against the last evening crackdown on agitating farmers.

Farmers claimed that those detained have started a hunger strike in protest against the police action. A group of farmers, including women, entered into a scuffle with police personnel in Moga while on their way to hold a protest outside the deputy commissioner’s office.

The developments drew political reactions from all sides.

In a statement issued in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party reaffirmed its support to farmers but emphasised the urgent need to reopen key roads to protect Punjab’s economy.

But the BJP alleged AAP leader and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann got the protest sites vacated ahead of the Ludhiana West bypoll to “garner votes”. The Congress, meanwhile, slammed both the parties and alleged they were hand in glove.

The protesting farmers in Punjab lashed out at the AAP government for detaining their leaders and removing protesters from the Shambhu and Khanauri border points, where they had been camping since February 13 last year after their march to Delhi was thwarted by security personnel.

As the protests got prolonged, farmers built temporary structures on the highway to accommodate protesters and sustain their agitation.

Haryana Police had fortified the border points with cement blocks, iron nails and barbed wire to scuttle any attempt by the farmers from Punjab to move towards the national capital. Thus, the traffic on the Shambhu-Ambala and Sangrur-Jind roads remained closed for over a year.

On Thursday, security personnel from Haryana removed the cement barricades on their side of Shambhu-Ambala Highway, opening the road for traffic, while barricading on the road at the Khanauri border point is still being removed.

Earlier in the day, Punjab Police resumed its operation to dismantle the remaining part of the temporary structures on the Punjab side of the Shambhu and the Khanauri points to clear the roads. Police took trolleys to an open ground so farmers could later take them by showing their identity proofs.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha — the two organisations spearheading the protests — have announced to hold dharnas outside the offices of deputy commissioners in protest against the Punjab Police crackdown.

Both the bodies slammed the AAP government in Punjab for evicting the protesters and detaining farmer leaders while they were returning after a meeting with a central delegation led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Chandigarh.

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Thursday said the AAP government is committed to generate employment by attracting industries. “But because of the closure of the two highways at Shambhu and Khanauri border points for more than a year, Punjab’s trade has been hit hard.”

He stressed that Punjab is currently waging a battle against drugs, and providing employment opportunities to youths is essential for winning this fight.

Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar accused Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of pushing the state down the path of “economic instability” by “propping up” a set of “fake” farm leaders who had no concern for farmers’ welfare.

“If the Shambhu and Khanauri could be vacated without a semblance of protest by such farm leaders, why let Punjab bleed and suffer loss of lives and revenue for 400 days,” he asked.

He said, “It was Bhagwant Mann who forced farmers to first sit on ‘dharna’ when it suited AAP during 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and now it is the same Bhagwant Mann who is trying to take credit for vacating Shambhu and Khanauri to garner votes ahead of Ludhiana West bypoll.”

Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa accused Mann of “conniving” with the BJP-led union government.

“First, a fake narrative was built that the farmers had blocked the highway, which has been causing losses to Punjab’s industry. In reality, it was the BJP-led Haryana government that had blocked the highway to stop the farmers from entering Delhi. Now at the behest of the BJP, the AAP initiated a crackdown on farmers, which is highly undemocratic,” Bajwa added.

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda condemned the “forcible ending of the farmers’ protest by the Punjab government”. He said that ignoring the farmers and preventing them from going to Delhi is completely undemocratic.

The government should accept their demands and guarantee MSP, Hooda told reporters here.

Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) leader Satnam Singh Pannu condemned the police action, and accused the Punjab government of being “hand-in-glove” with the Centre in launching the crackdown on the protesting farmers.

Meanwhile, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on an indefinite fast since November 26 last year, was taken to the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences in Jalandhar. Later, he was taken to PWD Rest House in Jalandhar.