<\/p>\n
Indian police fired tear gas on Wednesday to scatter protesting farmers as they resumed a march<\/a> to the capital, equipped with cranes and excavators after talks with the government on guaranteed prices for their produce failed to break a deadlock.<\/p>\n To escape the stinging gas and clouds of smoke, thousands of farmers, some wearing medical masks, ran into the fields surrounding their gathering-point on a highway about 200 km north of New Delhi.<\/p>\n The police action came as the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a fresh offer to resume talks on the farmers\u2019 demands. Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda urged the farmers to resolve their grievances through the talks.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter the fourth round, the government is ready to discuss all the issues\u201d such as guaranteed prices, he posted on social network X, as the march resumed.<\/p>\n \u201cI again invite the farmer leaders for discussion. It is important for us to maintain peace.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday, the farmers\u2019 groups had rejected the government\u2019s previous proposal<\/a> for five-year contracts and guaranteed support prices for produce such as corn, cotton and pulses.<\/p>\n The farmers, mostly from the northern state of Punjab, have been demanding higher prices backed by law for their crops. They form an influential bloc of voters Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot afford to anger ahead of general elections due by May.<\/p>\n The farmers began marching at 5:30am from the spot where authorities had stopped them by erecting barricades on the border of Punjab state with Haryana, blocking a key highway.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not right that such massive barricades have been placed to stop us,\u201d said one of the farmers\u2019 leaders, Jagjit Singh Dallewal. \u201cWe want to march to Delhi peacefully. If not, they should accede to our demands.\u201d<\/p>\n Police in riot gear lined both sides of the highway as the farmers, gathering earlier amid morning fog, waved colourful flags emblazoned with the symbols of their unions, while loudspeakers urged them to fight for their rights.<\/p>\n Sticks, stones, gas masks<\/h2>\n