Explainer: Massive security arrangement in Delhi ahead of farmer protest

Delhi authorities on Monday imposed a month-long ban on large gatherings and started putting in place massive security arrangements and fortifying state borders as the national capital is bracing for a new wave of farmers’ protests three years after a massive year-long agitation. ET’s Shambhavi Anand explains why the ‘Dilli Chalo’ call by farmer leaders on Tuesday has raised security concerns and put the central government in a fix a few months before the Lok Sabha elections:

What is the farmers’ protest about?
Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) – a group of Samyukta Kisan Morcha, organiser of the year-long farmers’ protest in 2020 that ended only after the government agreed to repeal three controversial farm laws it had introduced – and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) have announced a ‘Dilli Chalo’ march of farmers to the capital on Tuesday. A sea of farmers from Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and other states are expected to join the march to press for guaranteed minimum support price (MSP) for their produce and other demands. Convoys of tractor-trolleys have already set out from different parts of Punjab to join the march.

What is the government doing?
Commerce and food minister Piyush Goyal, minister of state for agriculture and farmers welfare Arjun Munda and minister of state for home Nityanand Rai met the farmers last week to discuss their demands. However, the talks were inconclusive.


The ministers offered to form a committee with representation from various ministries such as agriculture, rural and animal husbandry to discuss the issue of MSP guarantee, people aware of the matter said. Farmers, though, said they will stop the protest only if the Centre offers something concrete.

The team of ministers is expected to meet a delegation of farmer leaders again on Monday.

The authorities have imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), prohibiting gatherings of four or more people, throughout Delhi till March 12 and banned tractor rallies and carrying firearms. They are putting in place massive security arrangements and fortifying the borders to prevent protesting farmers from entering the city. The traffic police have issued an advisory for commuters.

Neighbouring Haryana, too, has imposed Section 144 in several districts.

What are the demands of farmers?

• A legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for all crops
• Complete loan waiver for farmers and farm labourers
• India should come out of WTO and restrict imports of agricultural commodities such as milk products and meat products
• Pension of Rs 10,000 per month for farmers and farm labourers above 58 years
• Reform of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana so that the Centre pays the insurance premiums and not the farmers
• 200 days of employment and Rs 700 per day wage under MNREGA
• “Justice” for victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which several farmers died during protests in 2020 and 2021

How is this protest related to the protest in 2020?
In 2020, thousands of farmers held a year-long protests in Delhi and its borders and surrounding states. The called off the protest only after the government agreed to repeal the three new farm laws it had passed in September that year.

The government had said the new laws would modernise farming in India and unshackle farmers and private investment. However, farmers feared that the removal of state protections, which they already considered insufficient, would leave them at the mercy of large companies.

On November 19, 2021, after the three farm laws were repealed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared the establishment of a committee – widely recognised as the ‘committee on MSP’ – tasked with deliberating on matters related to MSP, promoting zero-budget natural farming (ZBNF) practices, and determining crop patterns. This was formed in July 2022. However, it has not come out with any recommendation yet.