Delhi govt backs farmers amid tensions with Centre

New Delhi: In a resolute stand, the Delhi government has firmly stood by the farmers amid escalating tensions between the protesting farmers and the Central government.

On Tuesday, the Delhi administration rebuffed the central government’s proposal to convert Bawana stadium into a temporary detention facility in anticipation of the farmers’ march to the national capital.

In a letter addressed to Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, Delhi Home minister Kailash Gahlot underscored the

legitimacy of the farmers’ demands and emphasised the fundamental right to peaceful protest enshrined in the constitution.

“The demands of the farmers are genuine. Secondly, it is the constitutional right of every citizen to make a peaceful protest. It is therefore, incorrect to arrest the farmers,” Gahlot’s letter unequivocally stated.

Expressing solidarity with the farmers’ cause, the Delhi government urged the Central government to engage in dialogue with the protesting farmers to address their legitimate grievances. “Farmers of the country are our ‘annadata’ and treating them in this way by arresting them would be like rubbing salt into their wounds. We cannot be a party to this decision of the Central government,” Gahlot affirmed.