Tens of thousands of Indian farmers attempted to march to the capital on Wednesday, where they encountered police for the second day in a row as they protested for guaranteed pricing for their products.

About 200 kilometers (125 miles) from New Delhi, close to the Shambhu border that separates the states of Haryana and northern Punjab, farmers were attacked by police using tear gas. Additionally, police were shown on television employing drones to dump tear gas canisters on the farmers as they attempted to breach barriers consisting of barbed wire and cement blocks.

Following the failure of talks between government ministers and farm leaders to reach an agreement on their main demand—legislation ensuring a minimum support price for their produce—tens of thousands of farmers started marching toward the capital on Tuesday. They were transporting their groceries and other supplies in trucks and wagons.

In addition, the farmers are putting pressure on the government to fulfill its pledge to them to quadruple their income, forgive their loans, and drop the lawsuits that were filed against them during their previous 2021 demonstrations in which they set up camp outside the capital to voice their opposition to contentious agricultural regulations. Later, in an unusual move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked the regulations and pledged to find a mechanism to guarantee minimum support prices for all farm commodities.

On Friday, several labor unions and farmers organized a nationwide rural strike.

"We want to avoid the government claiming that farmers were invited to negotiations but chose not to attend. Thus, we said that we were prepared to engage in a dialogue," Jagjit Singh Dallewal, the head of a farmer organization, remarked.To stop the farmers from accessing the city, police in riot gear kept a close eye on many points of entrance into New Delhi. They used obstacles composed of enormous metal containers, barbed wire, spikes, and cement blocks to block important roadways. In order to stop the demonstrators from communicating with one another, mobile internet service was shut down in several parts of Haryana for a second day.

The march takes place a few months before the country's election, in which Modi is predicted by most to win a third term. Given that farmers make up a substantial portion of the electorate, the demonstrations might be a serious obstacle for him and the Bharatiya Janata Party, which he leads.

Opposition parties have backed the farmers and denounced the government's attempt to prevent them from traveling to the capital. The major opposition Congress party declared on Tuesday that, should it win the next national election, it will enact laws establishing minimum support prices. 

End//voice7news.tv