A farmers’ body on Monday issued an apology “with folded hands” over the blockage of key roads and the inconvenience caused as a consequence of their ongoing protest against the three agriculture reform laws, and said that their demonstrations were being held “out of compulsion”.

The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, which is leading the agitation at the various border points around the national capital, gave out handbills in Hindi to commuters on the Jaipur-Delhi highway, where hundreds of farmers have been camped for nearly three weeks, to convey their apology and reiterate their demand for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system, PTI reported.

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“Blocking roads, causing inconvenience to the public is not our aim. We are sitting here under a compulsion. Yet we apologise with folded hands if our agitation has caused you any inconvenience,” the pamphlets read. 

Primarily from Punjab and Haryana, the farmers have been camped at Delhi’s Singhu, Ghazipur and Tirki border points for over 17 days, causing congestion and traffic jams on key roads connecting the national capital with Haryana and Punjab. 

The Morcha also said that any elderly person, patient or ambulance stuck due to the blocked roads may contact the volunteers, who will immediately provide help.

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The Morcha also asserted in the pamphlets that the farmers do not want any “charity”, but a fair price for their crops. They said they wanted to enter Delhi with this demand, and present their view to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We are farmers. People also call us Anndata (food-providers). The prime minister of the country says he has brought us the historic gift of three laws. We say this is not a gift but a punishment.

“Please keep your gift with yourself. If you want to give us a gift, there should be a legal guarantee of fair price of our crops,” read the pamphlets, distributed among people.

The farmers also accused the Centre of “pretending” to be talking to them but not listening to their grievances.

The pamphlet signed off with “I am a farmer”.

Leaders of around 32 farmer unions observed a day-long hunger strike at Delhi’s Singhu border earlier on the day to protest against the Centre’s new farm laws.

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The unions claimed that demonstrations were also held at various district headquarters across the country.

The unions have claimed that more people are expected to join the ongoing agitation.

Hundreds of farmers have been camping at the Haryana-Rajasthan border as they were stopped from moving towards the national capital. Several borders of the national capital remained closed on Monday due to the ongoing protest by farmers.

Protesting farmers at Delhi border points have expressed apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations.

The government has maintained that the new laws will bring farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture.