New Delhi: Police on Sunday deployed tear gas at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border to disperse farmers who began their 'Dilli Chalo' march earlier today.
Police and protesting farmers got into a verbal altercation and drone footage showed police blocking the farmers at the border.
According to Haryana Police, the group of farmers moving ahead did not match the list of 101 farmers they were given who were scheduled to participate in today's march.
"We will first identify them (farmers) and then we can allow them to go ahead. We have a list of the names of 101 farmers, and they are not those people - they are not letting us identify them - they are moving ahead as a mob," said a Haryana police official deployed at the site.
Police said that the farmers did not have permission to move towards Delhi.
Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said, "The 'Jattha' of our 101 farmers and labourers have reached. We have already issued the list, if they (the police) have decided that they will check the IDs first before allowing us to move, they should tell us we will cooperate with that. We have shown the discipline and will continue to be so... They are using more tear gas today, as the wind direction is towards us. We are ready for any kind of sacrifice... It's the PM who has the solution for our problems, either he does it or let us march to Delhi."
A protesting farmer at the Shambhu border claimed that the police had the wrong list. He said that they were requesting the police to allow them to move ahead, as they have identity cards.
"The list they (police) have is wrong - the list doesn't have the name of farmers coming here. We have asked them (the police) to let us move ahead and we will show them our identity cards. Police are saying that we (farmers) don't have permission to move ahead - so why do we have to prove our identity?... We are trying to sort things out through dialogues - but anyhow we will move ahead. I told them (police) to go to Haryana as this is the land of Punjab."
Earlier today, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher announced that a 'Jattha' of 101 farmers would march at 12 noon.
SSP Patiala had issued a memorandum cautioning the media against interfering in farmers' matters, citing a specific incident on December 6, that violated statutory provisions, and urging mediapersons to maintain a safe distance while fulfilling their responsibilities. (ANI)