AAP-holding farmers launch ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest to counter ED pressure? What do Intel sources say?exclusive

Responding to pressure from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership incited farmers in Punjab to protest against the government, according to top intelligence sources.

Also Read | Farmers protest live updates here

Farmers in Punjab and Delhi on Tuesday staged a ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest march demanding a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) as they agreed to withdraw their agitation against the now-defunct farm laws in 2021. One of the conditions stipulated was that the AAP governments in Punjab and Delhi were seen to stand firmly with the farmers as they clashed with the police at the Shambhu-Ambala border on the shared border of Haryana and Punjab. The education ministry is probing several AAP leaders and has even issued six summons to its chairman and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

“Farmers are being unreasonable in their meetings and want a decision on the spot. Yesterday, they threatened to move to Delhi if approval for the implementation of the old pension scheme is not obtained immediately. They just want a ‘yes’ instead of seeking Both parties agreed. While most of their demands were accepted, there were some things that could not be decided on the spot, like pension after 58 years,” sources said, adding that the government made it clear that “they should not be allowed to move to Delhi” . “They’re ready.”

Intelligence sources said they were also investigating foreign funding. “So far we have found nothing… We cannot rule out the possibility of support from Khalistani groups at some stage.”

AAP is forcing them to move out of Punjab as soon as possible because they are worried about these farmer unions. “Farmer unions in Punjab are very militant and have stopped every government work,” they said.

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News18 reported on Tuesday how Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, who also participated in the first round of discussions, acted as a mediator to try to resolve the brewing impasse by organizing a meeting between central government ministers and farmer unions. However, the Punjab Chief Minister was not present when talks were held between union ministers and farmer unions on Monday. In Delhi, the AAP government rejected the Delhi Police’s proposal to convert the Bawana Stadium into a makeshift jail in view of the protests. Mann also allowed farmers free movement while traveling to Delhi. Just days before the protests, Mann had lashed out at Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, accusing him of “creating a border between Punjab and India”.

What happened on Wednesday?

Haryana police hurled tear gas at Punjab farmers at the Shambhu border between the two countries, where thousands of protesters remained on the second day of marches. A similar face-off took place at the Data Singhwala-Khanauri border in Jind district of Haryana, with Haryana police setting up roadblocks to prevent farmers from traveling to Delhi on tractor-trolleys.

Also Read | AAP, Congress need farmers to support their own ‘Chalo Delhi’ plan 2024

As farmers from many parts of Punjab continue to flock to the Shambhu border, a large number of tractor trolleys can be seen along the national highway on the Punjab side.

There were several clashes between protesters and police at the border on Tuesday, the first day of the Delhi Chalo unrest. The agitation led to massive traffic jams in Delhi.

With PTI input