Farmers’ unions agitating for repeal of central farm laws on Monday announced national-wide road blockade on state and national highways for three hours (12-3 PM) on February 6 even as agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the Budget cleared all doubts over contentious issues relating to the legislations and appealed to farmer leaders to think about it positively. Union leaders told a press conference at the Singhu Border, on the Haryana side, that they will block the roads between 12 pm to 3 pm on February 6. They also alleged that farmers have been “ignored” in the Union Budget 2021-22, and water and power supply have been curtailed, and mobile toilet blocks being removed, at their protest venues. The Samkyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of protesting unions, also alleged that the Twitter accounts of Kisan Ekta Morcha and a user named ‘Tractor2Twitter’ have been restricted. Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav alleged the action against the Twitter account was taken on the “request of government authorities”, adding accounts of some private individuals, who have been very vocal against the movement, have also been restricted. He also claimed that the Union government has “reduced the allocation to agriculture sector” in this budget. “Our February 6 protest would also be against this harassment faced by journalists who are trying to report the truth from the ground, and the Twitter restrictions,” said the farm leaders.
