Even as Haryana continued to witness widespread agitation against Centre’s new agriculture laws, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said that a law to claim recovery of damages to public property from protesters will be brought in soon.

Following his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Khattar told reporters that he discussed the farmers’ agitation along with other issues. “We discussed the farmers’ protest among other issues. We will be bringing a law for recovery of damages to public property from protesters,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting at the doorstep of Delhi demanding the repeal of Centre’s contentious farm laws.

Earlier this month, the government, while replying to questions on January 26 violence, told the Lok Sabha that the protesting farmers “aggressively resorted to rioting, damage to Government property and used criminal force to deter public servants from the discharge of their duty, thereby inflicting injuries to the on-duty police personnel”.

It also stated that the peasant tried to “furiously force” their way into Delhi, “resorted to rioting” and did not follow Covid-19 protocols, because of which the police had to use teargas and batons.

“As regards use of teargas and resorting to lathicharge against protesting farmers by Delhi Police, it has been reported by Delhi Police that at Delhi border, large convoys of protesting farmers in tractor trolleys tried to furiously force their way and go past police barricades to enter Delhi to mark their protest against the recently enacted ‘Farm Laws’,” MoS (Home) G Kishan Reddy had said in a written reply.