Editor's Pick: Punjab farmers set to shake up the Capital

(The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.)

Thousands of farmers from Punjab and Haryana who had massed at the Delhi-Haryana border yesterday were met with tear gas and water cannons deployed by the Delhi police. These farmers are the frontline of a protest against the Centre's new farm laws and a proposed law to remove free power for farmers. The Delhi Police, which is under the Union Home Ministry, later allowed the farmers to move to the Nirankari grounds in Burari within Delhi for a peaceful protest. However, the farmers organisations are yet to decide on moving to the designated venue.

The main fear among Punjab and Haryana farmers is that the three new farm laws enacted in the monsoon session of Parliament could disrupt the government procurement systems for wheat and paddy. The government procurement system is run via Agricultural Produce Market Committee markets with a Minimum Support Price guaranteed to farmers. The new laws allow tax-free private procurement outside the APMC markets at prices not pegged to the MSP. While only 6% of the country's farmers benefit from government procurement, the system is vital for Punjab and Haryana, with more than 85% of wheat and paddy grown in Punjab, and 75% in Haryana, bought by the government at MSP rates. The farmers in these States fear that the combination of the law that allows more corporate involvement in farming and the law that facilitates private, tax-free procurement will erode the MSP regime and leave them at the mercy of big businesses. The Centre's argument is that the new laws will give more options for the farmers. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has invited the farmers unions for talks on December 3.

The protests have quickly gained ground in Congress-ruled Punjab, which has already passed State laws to counter the Central laws, while BJP-ruled Haryana has blocked the movement of farmers towards Delhi. Farmers from other States have also planned to march to Delhi but given that many are ruled by BJP or its allies, the Centre has the wherewithal to stymie these protests. Even without them, however, the Punjab and Haryana farmers now seem to have the momentum to make their demands heard in the capital over the next few days. This buildup to a massive protest and the Centre's response that is yet to fully play out are what make the story important.