Several trade union leaders were detained or put under house arrest here on Saturday despite no road blockades being scheduled in Delhi, prompting workers’ bodies to suggest the crackdown was an attempt to break the worker-peasant unity against the NDA government’s policies.

Delhi police began the detentions and house arrests of workers’ leaders, students and civil society activists on Friday night, ahead of Saturday’s nationwide “chakka jam” or road blockade protest called by the agitating farmers and supported by 10 central trade unions. The national capital had been exempted since some of its borders are already blocked because of the farmers’ siege.

Vipin, North district vice-president of CPM labour arm Citu, was picked up around 12.30am from his home and taken to Badli police station, Citu secretary A.R. Sindhu told The Telegraph.

On Saturday morning, the police detained nearly 100 activists from several trade unions, students’ organisations and civil society body Delhi for Farmers Forum who had gathered at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Park near the ITO to hold a meeting.

Delhi Metro immediately closed the entry and exit gates of its Mandi House, ITO and Delhi Gate stations.

Surya Prakash, leader of CPIML Liberation labour arm AICCTU, and Manager Chaurasia, Delhi state secretary of SUCI workers’ wing AIUTUC, were detained at their homes. International Federation of Trade Unions national treasurer Animesh Das too was detained.

Over 40,000 police were deployed in and around Delhi and prohibitory orders clamped around the Red Fort, ITO and Shaheed Park.

“Since the Bharat Bandh of December 8, the 10 central trade unions have been supporting the farmers’ agitation. The government is trying to break the farmer-worker unity,” Sindhu said.

“No road blockades had been planned in Delhi; only a small meeting was scheduled at the Shaheed Park. But the police are trying to (create an impression) as though a big law-and-order issue was created.”

Sindhu described the police action as a ploy “to scare off the farmers’ sympathisers and a segment of the middle class that support this movement”.

The Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions — which includes the 10 workers’ organisations supporting the farmers, among them Congress labour arm Intuc and CPI-affiliated Aituc — condemned the arrests and detentions and defended the farmers’ demand for the repeal of three new farm laws.

Aituc general secretary Amarjeet Kaur said that trade unions had conducted protests in various cities, villages and workplaces. While supporting the farmers, they also aired their demand for the repeal of four new labour laws, she said.

“In Delhi, the programme in front of Bhagat Singh’s statute near the ITO was not allowed. It reflects the paranoia of the home ministry, which lacks the stomach for democratic expressions by the struggling masses for their rights,” Kaur said.

The trade unions have condemned the planting of nails near the sites of the farmers’ agitation, the snapping of water and electricity supply, and the Internet ban.

“Police have erected layers of barricades and fortifications, dug up trenches on highways, put up rows of nails and spikes on the pretext of maintaining law and order. They are behaving as if they are dealing with some enemy across the borders and not with the farmers, the citizens of our own country, feeding our people,” the Joint Platform said in a statement.

“The joint trade union movement strongly condemns and expresses its indignation at this type of treatment towards the farmers. It is also being condemned the world over.”