Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party over its “handling of farmers protests”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that after making false promises to the farmers for the past 10 years, Centre has started killing them with impunity.

 Referring to the death of a youth farmer who allegedly died during a clash with police in Khanauri at the Haryana-Punjab border, the Bengal Chief Minister said that such incidents indicate a gross violation of human rights.

 “Zamindars of all ages have always oppressed the poor and subjugated them to brute force. But never before has an elected government killed innocent farmers protesting for their rights. After lying and mistreating our farmers for 10 years, the BJP government is now killing them with impunity. The concerning developments at the Khanauri border indicate gross human rights violations and endanger our democracy,” West Bengal Chief Minister posted on X.

Earlier today, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that there will be a two-day halt in the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march as discussions will be held over the death of a youth that took place in Khanauri during a clash with police.

 “We will have discussions over the incident that took place in Khanauri. There will be a two-day stay on our march towards Delhi. We will clarify the entire situation later as to what our further movement will be,” he said.

Meanwhile, Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda said on Wednesday that the central government is ready to discuss all the issues raised by the Punjab farmers.

 He further invited the farmers for a fifth round of talks while urging them to find a solution through ‘dialogue’.

 “After the fourth round, the government is ready to discuss all the issues like MSP, crop diversification, stubble issues, and FIR in the fifth round. I again invite the farmer leaders for discussion,” Arjun Munda said while speaking to media on Wednesday.

 Several farmers and police personnel were injured in the clashes during the March that started on February 13.  The protesting farmers have been camping at the Shambhu border near Ambala since the start of the March. The two sides–ministers and farmer leaders–had met earlier on February 8, 12, and 15, but talks remained inconclusive.

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