Police step up security as farmers plan protest rallies

Police in Delhi have geared up for ‘snap demonstrations’ by farmers amid an ongoing protests against the government’s farm bills.
Security in the national capital, especially in the border areas, has been tightened and senior police officers are themselves monitoring the situation.
Snap demonstrations are random protests that pop up at a particular place.
“We have made ample arrangements in the area and are registering cases against those found flouting the orders,” said police official Eish Singhal.
The Delhi police had earlier said no demonstrations would be allowed in the national capital till September 30, citing an earlier order of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).
The missive came as political parties as well as farmers’ organisations have intensified their agitation against three agriculture bills passed by parliament recently.
On Monday, the DDMA had clarified that all social, cultural and political functions involving large gatherings are prohibited in Delhi till September 30.
Despite the orders, the Delhi Congress held a protest against the farm bills at Janpath.
The police detained over 41 Congress leaders and workers, including state president Anil Kumar, while they were marching towards the parliament.
After the passing of the farm bills, opposition MPs staged protest in the parliament complex, marching from the Gandhi statue to the Ambedkar statue.
The opposition and the government are on loggerheads ever since the bills were passed amid ruckus in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house.
Meanwhile, the border areas of Delhi, especially the Singhu border and Karnal road, saw massive deployment of police and paramilitary personnel even as Youth Congress workers and farmers took out a tractor rally yesterday.
Barricades and water cannons were deployed at strategic locations.
Meanwhile, eight MPs who were suspended from the parliament over the protests said they would go back to their states to scale up their action.
“Our suspension was a murder of democracy. But the bigger issue at hand is the anti-farmer bills passed by the Centre. The merit of this issue has reached another level. Protests and agitations will spread across states, districts, fields and farmlands of India,” Trinamnool Congress MP Dola Sen said.