The outrage of protesting can clearly be seen on the borders of Delhi. They are non stop protesting for few months now. Now their protest is becoming aggressive than silent ones. Sitting at same place and but getting justice by the government is making them insane. Responding to a call given by the Bharatiya Kisan Union, farmers protesting the Centre’s new farm laws halted toll collection on most highways in Haryana on Friday. According to officials, toll collection was halted either past midnight or from early Friday morning at several toll points in the state. While at many places, farmers took over toll plazas not allowing authorities to collect fees from commuters, at other places toll employees themselves halted the process in view of the protest. The toll plaza employees allowed vehicles to pass through without paying any charge.

A few days ago, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) had announced that toll booths in Haryana would not be allowed to collect toll from December 25 to 27.Farmers halted operation of toll plazas on NH-44 at Bastara in Karnal. They also halted toll collection process at another plaza located on the Karnal-Jind highway, at Khuian Malkana toll plaza at Dabwali in Sirsa district and at Makrauli Kalan on Rohtak-Panipat highway.However toll was being collected as usual on Friday morning at Kherki Daula toll plaza in Gurgaon.

BKU leader Jagjeet Singh Dalewala had a few ago said, “From December 25 to 27 all toll booths in Haryana will not be allowed by us to collect toll, we will stop them from doing so.

Thousands of farmers have been protesting at various border points of Delhi for around a month as the stalemate between the government and the protesters, who are demanding a repeal of the three new agri laws, continued without any signs of a breakthrough. Enacted in September, the three farm laws have been projected by the central government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country. However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and do away with the mandi system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates. The government has repeatedly asserted that the MSP and Mandi systems will stay and has accused the opposition of misleading the farmers.

On Friday, sources say, angry protesters showed black flags to state Women and Child Development Minister Kamlesh Dhanda at her constituency Kalayat where she had gone to address a few public meetings. Visuals of the incident showed angry protesters coming to the cavalcade of the minister and policemen rushing to ensure safe exit of the minister. Raising slogans against PM Narendra Modi’s government, the protesters kept following the cavalcade for some distance. An associate of Kamlesh Dhanda, who was accompanying the minister when a protest was held against her, claimed that “it was a small group of her political opponents”.

“All the programmers of the minister in the villages of the constituency took place peacefully,” he claimed.

At Guhla Cheeka (Kaithal), the protesters gheored local JJP MLA Ishwar Singh when he had gone to address a function held at a college on the occasion of Good Governance Day. As soon as farmers came to know about his function, they immediately gathered near the venue carrying black flags. The MLA kept stating that he is pro-farmer but the agitators in turn kept insisting that he should withdraw support from the state’s Manohar Lal Khattar government. The policemen ensured his safe exit by making a circle around him.

At Siwani town in Bhiwani district, farmers staged a protest ahead of the visit of state Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister J P Dalal, who had gone there to address a public meeting. The protesters claimed that the minister was forced to change his route leading to the meeting venue because of the agitation of farmers. They also claimed that the Chief Minister’s public meeting scheduled at neighboring Bahal on December 27 has also been postponed because of the farmers’ anger. However, Dalal told The Indian Express the meeting has been postponed keeping in view the upcoming civic body elections on December 27.

“The CM’s rally will now be held at Bahal in the first week of January. There is no impact of the agitation in my district,” claimed Dalal. Addressing the public meeting, Dalal said the opposition should try to ensure completion of SYL canal instead of doing politics in the name of farmers.In the past few days, several ministers and MLAs of BJP-JJP alliance have faced protests in Haryana.

Written by: Aadya Rani

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