News Analysis India

Tag: Delhi Chalo Protest

  • PM Narendra Modi’s parasite reference has deeply hurt farmers: Union leaders

    By PTI
    GHAZIABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi referring to farmers as ‘parasites’ has deeply hurt the farming community, leaders of unions protesting against the Centre’s agriculture laws said on Saturday.

    They also called on the farming community to respond to the ‘diplomatic abuses’ with ‘diplomatic punishmen’ by rejecting the government.

    The remarks came as farmer leaders Darshan Pal, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Gurnam Singh Chaduni and Rakesh Tikait of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha held an interaction with the press at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.

    The farmer leaders also announced that on Sunday torch processions and candle marches will be organised across the country to pay homage to the soldiers who have laid down their lives in line of action and the farmers who have died during the ongoing stir on the Delhi borders since November.

    ALSO READ: Protestors won’t return home till agreement is reached, says BKU leader Rakesh Tikait

    “The event will be held from 7 pm to 8 pm,” the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) said in a statement.

    Farmer leader Darshan Pal said through the “kisan panchayats”, they are trying to put pressure on the government so that it accepts their demands and the protest could end.

    “Farmers of the entire country are involved in the movement,” he said.

    Referring to a discussion on the farmers’ movement in the British Parliament, Pal said, “The government should understand our problem.”

    Balbir Singh Rajewal said the prime minister has given ‘diplomatic gaaliyan’ (abuses) to farmers in Parliament.

    ALSO READ: Rakesh Tikait address ‘mahapanchayat’ at Kurukshetra, criticises PM Narendra Modi’s remark on protesters

    “By calling the farmers parasites, he has deeply hurt the entire farming community. The prime minister, through his statement, has given wounds to the farmers of the country that would be remembered for generations,” Rajewal said.

    He added that the government has given ‘diplomatic abuses’ to farmers, who should reject it and give a ‘diplomatic punishment’.

    Chaduni claimed that with the new laws, the entire business of farming will go to big corporates and the farmers would be left to fend for themselves.

    He was also apprehensive that the big corporates would hoard grains in warehouses and control price of crops according to their will.

    ALSO READ: PM Narendra Modi should ask MPs, MLAs to give up pension, use funds to support youth, says Rakesh Tikait

    “Farmers are not going to leave the borders of Delhi without having their demands met by the government,” he added.

    Tikait said the protesting farmers are ‘guests of Delhi’ who will keep coming to the national capital and going back to their homes to look after their farms.

    “We are holding farmers’ meetings across the country and will keep doing it until the demands are met. We are ready for talks with the government but the channel would remain same – the Singhu border,” Tikait said.

    He also said the Samyukta Kisan Morcha will provide a list of questions to farmers who will pose these to their elected representatives.

    He called on farmers to keep the momentum of the protests going, along with keeping an eye on their farms.

    The farmer leaders also expressed concern over protesters ‘missing’ since the January 26 violence in Delhi and those arrested by police in connection with the probe into the incident.

  • VP Venkaiah Naidu favours moderation while using social media to prevent abuse, calls for ending farmers’ stir

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday called for moderation in the use of social media to prevent its abuse and avoid controversies so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings.

    His comments came in the backdrop of the government expressing “strong displeasure” over Twitter’s delay in taking prompt action against accounts and hashtags spreading misinformation and provocative content about the farmers’ stir.

    In an informal interaction with reporters, Naidu, who is also the Rajya Sabha chairman, called for an early resolution to the ongoing farmers agitation through talks and said extreme or maximalist positions would not help in resolving the issue.

    Referring to the discourse on pulling down and restoring some accounts by Twitter regarding some comments on farmers’ agitation, Naidu stressed the best of way to effectively use social media without offending others is for the users to adopt the principle of moderation in content generation.

    Asked what he meant by moderation, the Vice President said extreme positions should not be taken so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings.

    Asserting that he was against controlling social media, Naidu said such effective platforms should not be misused and abused, and social media should not be allowed to be converted into theatres of war.

    ALSO READ: Rakesh Tikait address ‘mahapanchayat’ at Kurukshetra, criticises PM Narendra Modi’s remark on protesters

    Wars are hazardous to all, he said.

    “Content for social media should be generated in a restrained and responsible manner by keeping the reactions to such content in mind. Such reflection would minimise offensive posts. Provocation should not be the objective. Sharing of views for better perspectives should be,” the Vice President said.

    About the farmers’ agitation, he said taking extreme or maximalist positions would not help in resolving the issue.

    Both the government and the farmers are willing to talk further even after 11 rounds of discussion already held.

    Talks should be taken forward for early resolution of the issue, Naidu said.

    ALSO READ: PM Narendra Modi should ask MPs, MLAs to give up pension, use funds to support youth, says Rakesh Tikait

    “Taking extreme or maximalist positions by any side makes it difficult to resolve the issue as it makes accommodation of the other point of view difficult. Accordingly, the principle of moderation applies in this case as well,” he said.

    Referring to 100 years of first direct elections to the country’s central and provincial legislatures in 1920 and consolidation of India as a democracy and a Republic, he said, “Democracy is all about discussion and negotiated resolution of differences. It inherently calls for moderation without taking to extremes.”

    “It applies to both the issues concerning social media and farmers’ agitation.”

    Thousands of farmers have been protesting since late November at Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, demanding a rollback of three contentious laws, which they feel would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations.

    However, the Centre has maintained that the laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.

    ALSO READ: No ‘ghar wapsi’ till farmers’ demands are met, says BKU leader Rakesh Tikait

    Naidu said the during the Budget session, Rajya Sabha has witnessed the crescendo of positivity and clocked near 100 per cent productivity during first part.

    He noted that during the farewell of four retiring members of the House, including the Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, Rajya Sabha witnessed a “crescendo of positivity with both the sides expressing and demonstrating good will for each other and prime minister leading the way in this regard”.

    “Such a human spirit brings out the best of all. Even though political differences are bound to be there, such spirit of recognition of contributions of all sections of the House builds bridges,” the Rajya Sabha chairman said.

  • Protestors won’t return home till agreement is reached: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI
    BAHADURGARH: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait on Friday revealed plans by farmer leaders to hold meetings in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat and said protesters in Delhi will not return home until the Centre reaches an “agreement” with them.

    It was not immediately clear if the remark made at a “mahapanchayat” here was a climb down from Tikait’s earlier assertion that there will be no “ghar wapsi” unless the laws are withdrawn.

    The government has been telling farmer unions to consider an option other than the complete repeal of the laws.

    He said the government will have to talk with the farmer unions’ committee spearheading the agitation against the laws.

    ALSO READ: Rakesh Tikait address ‘mahapanchayat’ at Kurukshetra, criticises PM Narendra Modi’s remark on protesters

    “This agitation will continue until the Government of India talks to the committee and arrives at an agreement. Till that time, farmers will not return home,” he said addressing a “mahapanchayat” organised by the “Dalal Khap 84” near the Tikri border.

    He also claimed the agitation is spread across the country and not limited to Punjab, Haryana or Uttar Pradesh as being projected by some.

    More “mahapanchayats” will be held in coming days, he said, adding that they will go to Gujarat as well.

    Tikait alleged that farmers from Gujarat were being pressured not to lend support to the agitation.

    ALSO READ: PM Narendra Modi should ask MPs, MLAs to give up pension, use funds to support youth, says Rakesh Tikait

    “If anyone from Gujarat wants to come here to support the agitation and if it is found they are coming, police are being send to their homes,” he alleged.

    “We will hold meetings in Gujarat and other states,” he said.

    Tikait also said the “business on hunger” will not be allowed and those wanting it will be “driven out” of the country.

    Hitting out at the farm laws, he claimed these will lead to the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) and exploitation of farmers, from whom big companies will procure their produce at cheaper rates and then store it in godowns.

    ALSO READ: No ‘ghar wapsi’ till farmers’ demands are met, says BKU leader Rakesh Tikait

    Big godowns will be built, which will be barricaded on similar lines like the ones near the protest sites at the Delhi borders, he said.

    Without naming anyone, he said attempts have been made to divide the farmers’ stir.

    “They tried to divide us on the lines of Punjab and Haryana, then small and big farmers,” he said.

    “We have said that the three laws are not acceptable to farmers and should be rolled back. But how will they take back these when godowns were built first and laws were framed later,” he said.

    ALSO READ: Ready to take agitation across the nation, says Rakesh Tikait

    “They did business of temple, religion and feelings. Now, they want to do the business on hunger,” Tikait alleged.

    The BKU leader from Uttar Pradesh has been camping at Ghazipur on the Delhi-UP border for over two months against the central laws enacted in September.

    The Centre has been saying these laws will bring in new farming technologies and free the farmers from the clutches of middlemen.

    The farmers have been rejecting these claims, saying these laws will harm their interest.

  • Three more held in connection with Republic Day violence at Burari

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Three more people have been arrested in connection with the violence that erupted during the farmers’ tractor parade in north Delhi’s Burari on Republic Day, police said on Thursday.

    The three men — Gurjeet Singh (34), Guru Prakash (34) and Rajendra Singh (41) — were arrested following a raid on Wednesday evening, they said.

    Earlier, the police had arrested eight men in connection with the violence in Burari.

    The arrest was made by the Special Investigation Team of north district in connection with the violence in Burari area on Republic day, a senior police officer said.

    The officer said Guru Prakash is a resident of Old Mahavir Nagar and the two others are from Bhalswa Dairy area.

    Mobile phones of the accused and a motorcycle used by them during the violence have also been seized, the police said.

    Thousands of farmers protesting the Centre’s new agri laws had clashed with the police during the tractor parade on January 26.

    Many of the protesters, driving tractors, reached the Red Fort and entered the monument.

    Some protesters even hoisted religious flags on its domes and a flagstaff at the ramparts, where the national flag is unfurled on Independence Day.

    On Monday, the Special Cell had arrested actor-activist Deep Sidhu, a “prominent player” behind the violence at the Red Fort.

    Over 120 people have been arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with the violence that took place across the national capital on January 26, officials said.

  • Rakesh Tikait address ‘mahapanchayat’ at Kurukshetra, criticises PM Narendra Modi’s remark on protesters

    By PTI
    KURUKSHETRA: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait Tuesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Andolan-jivi’ (professional protestors) remarks and asked if people like great freedom fighter Bhagat Singh will also be put in that category.

    Addressing a well-attended ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ at Gumthala Garhu village in Pehowa in this district, a third within a week in Haryana, he said the government should not be under the wrong impression that the protesting farmers will return to their homes without their demands being accepted.

    Without naming the Prime Minister or using his ‘Andolan-jivi’ phrase, Tikait said, “In Parliament, they are saying these are parjivis (parasites). Was Bhagat Singh who sacrificed his life for this nation a parjivi? What about 150 farmers who died during this agitation? Were they parjivis too? Had they gone to Delhi to agitate and die?”

    ALSO READ: PM Narendra Modi should ask MPs, MLAs to give up pension, use funds to support youth, says Rakesh Tikait

    Speaking in Rajya Sabha on Monday, the prime minister had hit out at those behind the farmers’ protests, saying a new “breed” of agitators called “Andolan jivi” has emerged in the country who cannot live without an agitation and the nation should guard against them.

    Kurukshetra is a land of ‘kranti’ (revolution) and ‘nyay’ (justice) and that is why the ‘mahapanchayat’ is being held here to get justice for the farmers, he said.

    Tikait also alleged that attempts were being made to divide the protesting farmers on the lines of region and other considerations, and appealed them to reject any such design.

    “They will try to divide you on Punjab-Haryana lines, as Sikh and non-Sikh, Hindus and Muslims..,” he alleged.

    ALSO READ: No ‘ghar wapsi’ till farmers’ demands are met, says BKU leader Rakesh Tikait

    “The farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s farm laws is nationwide and not limited to Punjab or Haryana.”

    “We will win this fight,” he declared.

    Projecting the 40 farmers unions spearheading the agitation as fully united, he said, “We have said we will neither change ‘Panch’ (leader) nor ‘Manch’ (stage).”

    “We have always said that if government has to talk there are 40 representatives they can talk to them, whatever these unions decide will be acceptable to us,” he said.

    Tikait said the protesting farmers will divide their time between home, fields and the agitation.

    Every farmer’s family, he said, is required to participate in the stir by sending at least one person at the Delhi border protest sites while other members would continue to work in their fields.

    ALSO READ: Ready to take agitation across the nation, says Rakesh Tikait

    He said the protesters are prepared for a long struggle to get the three laws repealed and would visit other states like Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka and Odisha to garner farmers’ support for their struggle.

    He said that a farmer does not transfer his agriculture land to even his son during his lifetime, how he can give it to the corporates.

    The BKU leader from Uttar Pradesh has been camping at Ghazipur on the Delhi-UP border as part of a campaign by farmer unions against the central laws enacted in September.

    “Over the past two days, they have brought this new issue of small farmers, saying this (agitation) is not fight of small farmers but that of big farmers who are coming in tractors,” he said, attacking the Centre.

    He appealed to the farmers to not be misled by such things.

    ALSO READ: At Singhu border, Rakesh Tikait’s cutouts, posters and badges of farmers stir draw crowd

    He claimed farmers have come under debt “due to wrong policies of the government”.

    He reiterated that the protesters demanding the rollback of the contentious agri-marketing laws will stay on Delhi’s borders till October 2 and there will not be any compromise on the demands.

    “Those occupying the seats of power, their purpose is something else…We don’t have to fall in their trap. We have to concentrate on our agitation. No business over hunger will not be allowed in this country,” he said.

    Rejecting the Centre’s assertions that farm laws were in the interests of farmers, Tikait claimed these legislations will adversely impact not just farmers but other sections too.

    “The PDS system will be finished, the poor will be impacted. Small traders will be finished, small businesses will be finished and farmers will be destroyed. Only malls and godowns will survive,” he said.

    Tikait also said while salaries of MPs, MLAs have increased by up to 500 percent over the years, rates of farmers crops have gone up by only 19-23 percent.

    Meanwhile, singer Rupinder Handa, who was also present at the event, announced to return the ‘Lok Gayika Puraskar’ award given to her by the Haryana government four years ago to protest alleged apathetic attitude of the ruling dispensation towards farmers’ demands.

    “Internet was suspended, farmers are not being supported. The government which did not respect farmers, I thought there is no point in keeping this award,” Handa told reporters later.

    Thousands of farmers have been protesting against the three farm sector reform laws enacted by the Centre in September last year.

    The Centre has been saying these laws will bring in new farming technologies and free the farmers from the clutches of middlemen.

    The farmers have been rejecting these claims, saying these laws will harm their interest.

  • Opposition asks government to shed its ‘arrogance’ over farm laws

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Opposition members on Tuesday asked the government in Lok Sabha to shed its “arrogance” over the three farm laws even as BJP MPs hailed the Centre for its welfare and pro-farmer measures.

    Speaking during the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President’s address, Preneet Kaur of the Congress dubbed the three Acts, which have triggered protests, as black laws and asked the government to repeal them.

    She referred to “Khalistani” and “Maoists” barbs used by some people against a section of protesting farmers and said this was wrong while adding that a brother of a protester was a soldier who had laid down his life in the Galwan Valley clash with Chinese soldiers in Ladakh.

    “This government is a real threat to our democracy not farmers,” she said, asking the government to shed its arrogance.

    BJP’s Dilip Saikia praised the government’s welfare schemes for the poor and farmers.

    He focussed on the government’s emphasis on boosting infrastructure in Assam and the Northeast in general, adding that the state has got an AIIMS.

    Several medical colleges have also been launched in Assam by the state dispensation, he said.

    During the China war in 1962, the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had left the entire Northeastern region to its fate, Saikia alleged, and said it is the Modi government which has worked to boost connectivity, infrastructure and other development works there.

    He praised the annulment of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and also the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

    TMC’s Saugata Roy alleged that several Union Ministers are doing “political tourism” in West Bengal.

    In an apparent reference to the upcoming state assembly polls, he said it was a battle between “Bengali and outsiders” and said the state cannot be ruled from Gujarat.

    He also took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his ‘aandolan-jivi’ jibe and said the BJP’s ideological forebears never went to jail during the freedom struggle.

    Roy also demanded repeal of the farm laws.

    BJP’s Rita Bahuguna Joshi hailed the prime minister for his “foresight” in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic.

    While opposition members have been targeting him, Modi has been steadfast in his resolve to serve the poor and farmers.

  • ‘Informal’ school started by farmers’ group at Singhu border resumes after two-week break

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A makeshift ‘informal’ school at Delhi’s Singhu border, where farmers have been protesting the new agri laws, has resumed after a two-week break with less children owing to the tense situation following the tractor parade violence on Republic Day.

    A group of farmers from Punjab’s Anandpur Sahib had in December started the school in a makeshift tent for school going children who had accompanied their parents to the Singhu border protest site and those living in the slums nearby.

    Pioneered by writer Bir Singh and advocate Dinesh Chaddha, the temporary school is part of the multiple ‘sewa’ practices being offered at the protest site.

    ALSO READ: At Singhu border, Rakesh Tikait’s cutouts, posters and badges of farmers stir draw crowd

    Sukhwinder Singh Barwa, a resident of Roop Nagar district in Punjab, said they resumed the classes on February 5.

    “We started the school in the first week of December. There were over 170 students studying here. Due to the tense situation on Republic Day, we closed it on January 24. It was later resumed on Friday,” Barwa said.

    He said there were 30 local students who have never been to school before.

    ALSO READ: No ‘ghar wapsi’ till farmers’ demands are met, says BKU leader Rakesh Tikait

    “As the schools have opened and the internet was suspended here, most of the students who came here from Punjab and other states have gone back to attend their classes and to prepare for their upcoming exams. Now around 60 students come here. They are from class 1 to 7,” he said.

    The timing of classes is from 11 am to 4 pm.

    “During morning hours from 8 am to 11 am, there is library time where people read books whatever they want according to the availability. Earlier, we used to get almost every newspaper, however, after the restrictions were imposed, we only get few Hindi and Punjabi papers,” Barwa said.

    ALSO READ: Ready to take agitation across the nation, says Rakesh Tikait

    “We are teaching students general subjects, including morale science and languages. We also have the history books of different religions and those who are interested can read them. There are eight to nine teachers who teach students in a group of 10 according to their class,” he added.

    Its not just academic learning at the makeshift school but skill learning too.

    “Many students have tried their hands in painting also and they have done a really good job. They have created several beautiful pictures on charts which we have displayed at ‘Sanjhi Sath’, the place where classes being held. Several people come here by their own and draw pictures and write slogans on charts,” Barwa said.

    ‘Sanjhi Sath’ is a reference in Punjabi used for a place where people gather to have discussions.

    Maninder Singh, a resident of Ludhiana in Punjab, said children love them a lot.

    “Sunday is a holiday, but yesterday many students came to the school and urged us to take their classes. They wanted to study. We have not planned for the future when the protest will end, but we will do something for the children” he said.

    Maninder said the volunteers came in contact with each other at the protest site and started doing their work.

    Thousands of protesting farmers had clashed with the police during the tractor rally called by farmer unions on January 26 to highlight their demand for repeal of the Centre’s three farm laws.

    Many protesters, driving tractors, reached the Red Fort and entered the monument.

    Some protesters even hoisted religious flags on its domes and the flagstaff at the ramparts, where the national flag is unfurled by the prime minister on Independence Day.

  • Centre waging war against farmers, BJP chief JP Nadda faking love for them: TMC

    JP Nadda had flagged off the BJP #39;s #39;Paribartan Yatra #39; from Nabadwip and addressed a farmers #39; rally in Malda on Saturday.

  • At Singhu border, Rakesh Tikait’s cutouts, posters and badges of farmers stir draw crowd

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The demand for cutouts of Rakesh Tikait at Singhu border underlines the growing popularity of the farmer leader credited with reviving the farmers’ movement against the Centre’s farm laws following violence during a tractor rally on Republic Day.

    Roadside stalls selling badges, posters and other literature related to the farmers stir are a common sight at Singhu border.

    Wasim Ali, who has set up such a stall at the protest site, says hand-held cutouts of Tikait are a big hit among the crowd.

    “Each cutout of Tikait is priced at Rs 20. I have been selling the cutouts since the last few days as they are in high demand,” he said. Around 700-800 such cutouts are sold every day, said Ali, a resident of Bawana in north west Delhi.

    ALSO READ: No ‘ghar wapsi’ till farmers’ demands are met, says BKU leader Rakesh Tikait

    “I usually buy these cutouts from Sadar Bazar and sell them here. These are the most demanded items at my stall,” he added.

    Tikait’s image received a massive boost after he defiantly announced to continue the agitation, even as a large posse of Uttar Pradesh police personnel gathered at Ghazipur protest site after the Republic Day violence, with rumours rife that he might be arrested.

    A section of protesting farmers had entered Delhi and reached up to ITO and Red Fort in the heart of the national capital during their tractor rally on January 26.

    In clashes between police and farmers, scores were injured and property, including buses, were vandalised.

    The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader was unwell when a large number of UP police personnel gathered at Ghazipur border where he had been camping for over two months in protest against the contentious farm laws.

    ALSO READ: Ready to take agitation across the nation, says Rakesh Tikait

    A cornered Tikait, however, addressed a huge crowd at the protest site, which has now become a focal point of the agitation, after his teary-eyed speech was beamed by news channels amid dwindled presence at Ghazipur border after the January 26 violent clashes.

    He had reaffirmed the resolve of the farmers, saying “they won’t relent or retreat”.

    Tikait’s emotional appeal galvanised thousands of farmers from western UP as well as Punjab and Haryana, who took to road to join the agitation that had faced the threat of petering out in the wake of the January 26 episode.

  • Villagers bring food, water for Rakesh Tikait as BKU digs heels at Ghazipur border

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Villagers brought water in clay pots and home-made food for Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Saturday in a show of support for the ongoing stir against the new farm laws, even as local authorities sent tankers of drinking water and mobile toilets at the protest site.

    Tikait urged the government to restore internet services, which have been banned by the Centre at protest sites on Delhi’s borders Saturday.

    A little boy from a Ghaziabad village reached the protest with a tiffin filled with homemade ‘parathas’ and pickle along with water.

    Some villagers from western Uttar Pradesh including places like Muzaffarnagar, Greater Noida, and Meerut also reached Ghazipur border with water and buttermilk in clay pots to feed the protestors.

    ALSO READ: Ghazipur border – Resolve grows stronger, farmers say movement not affected by January 26 incident

    Water and power supply at the protest site was disrupted by the local administration two days ago following an ultimatum to protestors to vacate the spot by Thursday night, prompting Tikait to say he would drink water only when farmers bring it from their villages but continue the stir.

    Overwhelmed by emotion, tears welled up the eyes of Tikait, who had proclaimed he would rather commit suicide than end the protest for farmers.

    “A conspiracy is being planned by the BJP to weaken the agitation of farmers,” Tikait claimed, a day after a BKU member filed a complaint at Kashambi police station here against two BJP MLAs for allegedly orchestrating violence at the protest site.

    A senior police official confirmed to PTI that the complaint was made against Loni MLA Nand Kishor Gujjar and Sahibabad MLA Sunil Sharma but FIR has not been lodged.

    ALSO READ: R-Day violence – Team of forensic experts visits Red Fort to collect evidence

    Tikait also urged the Centre to restore internet services at protest sites so that farmers could put forth their views and demands on social media.

    Besides sending water tankers, the Ghaziabad civic bodies have also re-stationed mobile toilets at the protest site on Saturday, as support for the farmers’ protest swelled with more villagers pouring in at the Delhi- Meerut highway in Ghazipur on the border with Uttar Pradesh.

    The Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre’s new farm laws here looked like it was going slim on Thursday but more protestors have joined the stir, following a mahapanchayat of farmers on Saturday in Muzaffarnagar, while supporters also joined in from Haryana and Rajasthan districts.

    “The movement was and is strong,” BKU’s Meerut Zone president Pawan Khatana told PTI.

    Khatana, who is at the demonstration site with BKU leader Rakesh Tikait, said there has been continuous support for the “peaceful protest” against the farmers’ demand for removal of the new agri laws.

    “This is not a political protest. Anybody who shares the ideology of the BKU and Rakesh Tikait are welcome here. But it is our appeal to those who do not wish to support the movement till the end that please do not come only to leave in between,” he said.

    ALSO READ: Violence on Republic Day scripted by BJP to discredit farmers’ movement – AAP

    Asked about estimated crowd size at the site, the farmer leader from western Uttar Pradesh said, “Farmers are coming in to show solidarity and leaving. It is not a stagnant crowd.”

    On Friday night, the BKU office-bearers had estimated a crowd of around 10,000 people at Ghazipur while the Ghaziabad police officials pegged it around 5,000 to 6,000.

    Heavy security deployment, including personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), Rapid Action Force (RAF) in anti-riot gears and civil police, was made at the protest site.

    Meanwhile, the Delhi Traffic Police said to and fro movement on the National Highway 24 (Delhi-Meerut Expressway) has been closed.

    Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, demanding a rollback of the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

    The protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations.

    However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.