SC asks panel to mediate with farmers over highway blockade, suspension of agitation

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the court-appointed high-powered panel to engage with protesting farmers to persuade them to temporarily suspend their agitation or relocate it from highways along the Punjab-Haryana border, while ensuring that the well-being of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, whose fast-unto-death entered its 18th day, remains a top priority. The court took note of Punjab advocate general Gurminder Singh’s contention that the farmers’ blockade of major highways, including the arterial Khanauri-Shambhu stretch, is causing significant economic disruption for the state. “The primary task of the committee is to convince the farmers to either shift or suspend their agitation pending decisions of the governments,” it said. It also added that the committee strives to recommend appropriate policy measures “to ensure that farmers do not have to sit on protest every now and then.” The committee’s formation followed protests by farmers demanding solutions to their long-standing grievances, including MSP legalisation.