Punjab Farmer Leaders’ Meeting Today: Will Key Demands Be Heard?

Is a nationwide farmers' agitation going to start against the Punjab government? These questions are being raised because the controversy seems to be growing after the action taken by the Punjab Police against the protesting farmers at Shambhu and Khanauri border. Farmer organizations have announced to open a front against the Punjab Police and the government, meanwhile the government has called the farmers for a meeting.

Punjab government called farmer leaders for a meeting today
Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders said they have received an invitation from the Punjab government for a meeting with Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khadian on Friday. The invitation comes ahead of the SKM's call for a march to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on March 26. According to a letter from the Agriculture Department director released to the media by SKM leaders, the meeting is scheduled for Friday at 4 pm at Punjab Bhawan.

Traffic restored at Shambhu border, preparations to open the road in Khanauri
Traffic on the Shambhu-Ambala highway resumed on Thursday after more than a year, a day after the Punjab Police detained protesting farmers and demolished temporary structures erected by them at the protest site. Meanwhile, movement is also set to resume from the Khanauri border with Haryana Police removing barricades from the road. The administration continued to remove barricades from the road even as angry farmers protested at several places in Punjab, including Moga, Tarn Taran, Muktsar and Faridkot, against the action taken on the protesters on Wednesday evening.

Punjab Government Agriculture Minister has called a meeting of leaders of SKM Punjab Chapter and BKU (Ugrahan at 4:00 pm in Punjab Bhawan, Chandigarh, today. pic.twitter.com/ZhNSBb0Yng

— ANI (@ANI) March 21, 2025

Traffic on these roads remained closed for more than a year
Haryana security officials had erected barricades using cement blocks, iron spikes and barbed wires along the border with Punjab to thwart any attempt by farmers from Punjab to march towards the capital under the 'Dilli Chalo' programme. Due to this, traffic on the Shambhu-Ambala and Sangrur-Jind roads remained closed for over a year. Haryana security personnel on Thursday removed cement barricades placed on the Shambhu-Ambala highway, restoring road traffic, while the road blockade at the Khanauri border was being removed.

Earlier, the Punjab Police also resumed the operation to remove the remaining temporary structures located on the Punjab side of Shambhu and Khanauri border on Thursday. The police took the tractor-trolleys to an open field so that the farmers could take them after showing their identity cards. Meanwhile, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha announced a sit-in outside the offices of the Deputy Commissioners on Thursday to protest against the action of the Punjab Police.

Farmer organizations are continuously protesting to remove the protesters
Both the organisations criticised the AAP government of Punjab for removing the protesters and detaining the farmer leaders who were returning after a meeting with a central delegation led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Chandigarh. Facing criticism from some sections over the police action, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the AAP government was committed to generating employment for the youth by attracting industries to the state. "Trade in Punjab has been badly affected due to the closure of two major highways at Shambhu and Khanauri borders for more than a year," Cheema said.

Meanwhile, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who was on an indefinite hunger strike since November 26 last year, was taken to the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences in Jalandhar, from where he was later shifted to the PWD Rest House in Jalandhar.