Borders of Delhi, Haryana fortified

New Delhi/Chandigarh: Is laying thorns, nails in farmers' path 'amritkaal' or 'anyaykaal': Priyanka slams govt.

Ahead of a proposed 'Delhi Chalo' march by farmer unions on Tuesday, authorities in Haryana and Delhi fortified borders with neighbouring states at many places by putting up concrete blocks, road spike barriers and barbed wires and deploying thousands of police personnel, besides imposing prohibitory orders. While the Centre has invited farmer unions for another meeting to discuss their demands on February 12, the move to block borders to prevent the protesters from entering the national capital drew flak from opposition parties and farmer groups on Sunday.

Authorities, however, defended the restrictions, citing the 2020 agitation against the now-repealed three farm laws that had stretched to over a year. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and several farmer associations, mostly from UP, Haryana and Punjab, have called the protest to press the Centre to accept their demands, including the enactment of a law to guarantee a minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra shared a video of road spike barriers being placed on state borders and said, "Is laying nails-thorns in the path of farmers 'amritkaal' or 'anyaykaal'?" Punjab Chief Minister and AAP leader Bhagwant Mann likened the roads to enter Delhi and Haryana to the India-Pakistan border. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Sunday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over reports of barricading and laying of nails on roads at certain points near the Delhi border ahead of the farmers' proposed 'Delhi Chalo' march. Sharing a video of nails laid on roads and multiple barricades put up to stop farmers from marching into the national capital on ‘X', the Congress general secretary asked why the tillers were being treated in this manner.