The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab is facing increasing challenges as farmers have declared an indefinite protest starting Wednesday, March 5. This decision comes after several farmer leaders were either detained or placed under house arrest by the state police during early morning raids on March 4, just a day before their planned protest in Chandigarh. 

During the farmers' protest in Delhi, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal supported the farmers. He asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the central government were stopping him from entering Delhi and why the demands of farmer leaders were being ignored. Now, farmers are protesting against the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has called for a march to Chandigarh today. Since last night, the Punjab Police have detained several farmer leaders, but the farmers are still continuing their protest. To control the situation, the Chandigarh-Punjab border has been sealed, barricades have been placed, and some routes have been diverted. 

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has assured that the protest will not cause problems for the public. Chandigarh Police have issued a traffic advisory, while the Punjab Police have detained several farmer leaders across the state. The farmers, who are protesting, are demanding that the Punjab government fulfill their requests. Their demands include setting a minimum support price for six crops, introducing a loan waiver scheme, paying overdue dues to sugarcane farmers, compensating the families of farmers who died during the protests, waiving electricity bills for motors on the Sirhind Feeder Canal and forming a sub-committee to discuss these issues between the government and farmers. In total, they have 18 demands.  

“The SKM had a meeting with Mann on Monday (March 4). However, instead of listening to the farmers and their demands, the chief minister asked them to call off the protest,” the SMK said. "The SKM strongly protests against the dictatorial step by the Bhagwant Singh Mann government of Punjab to suppress the democratic rights of farmers for peaceful protest. Instead of putting pressure on the Union government to resolve the ongoing genuine struggle of farmers by convening discussions with all the farmer organisations that are on the struggle path, adhering to the disgraceful path of unleashing police at midnight in the houses to suppress and threaten the farmers' leaders is politically wrong and highly unfortunate," it added.

The umbrella group of farmers' organisations that led the 2020-21 protests at the Delhi borders has called for the immediate release of the farmer leaders in police custody, including the elderly Balbir Singh Rajewal.