NEW DELHI: At a demonstration in the nation’s capital on Thursday, thousands of farmers descended on buses and trains from all across India to voice their demands for better guaranteed prices for their produce in the face of police barriers and heavy security.
Days before general elections are anticipated to be held in an attempt to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi run for an unusual third term, the rally takes place. A month prior, police using water cannons and tear gas had stopped a farmers’ march outside of New Delhi.
“We hope to demonstrate to government officials that we are not far from accomplishing our objectives through this meeting,” Darshan Pal of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a group of farmers, told news agency ANI. “We can encircle Delhi at any time.”
The administration and Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not immediately respond, but they have previously stated that they are dedicated to the welfare and prosperity of farmers, who make up a significant portion of the electorate.
Despite the warning of traffic congestion, deal with police barricades and strict security.
Farmers gathered in groups and listened to their leaders’ lectures while sometimes singing anti-Modi and anti-government slogans. The farmers had stopped the February 13 march at a location approximately 200 kilometers from New Delhi, where they had set up camp.
In anticipation of Thursday’s march in the capital’s Ramlila Maidan, a well-liked gathering place, police erected barricades, stepped up security, and issued a traffic congestion alert.
Farmers from states like Odisha in the east and Maharashtra in the west were unfazed by the large number of police and paramilitary personnel present.
The goal of this one-day rally, according to farmer Narendra Singh of the northern state of Haryana, is to “serve as a reminder to Modi government of their unfulfilled promises.”
Farmers claim the Modi administration has been moving slowly on its promise made in 2021 to form a commission to determine how to guarantee support prices for all produce.
In addition, they demand that the government follow through on its pledge to quadruple their salaries and take action against a federal minister whose son was detained during a similar rally in 2021 on charges of running over and killing four demonstrators.
Concessions prior to elections
“A legally guaranteed minimum support price is our main demand,” Utpal Biswas, 39, of the eastern state of West Bengal, stated. “Today’s demonstration is intended to last for one day, but we’ll see how it develops.”
Farmers have been denied access to the city in the past, so the government’s decision to permit them to congregate in the capital, albeit under tight guidelines intended to maintain public calm, is perceived as a compromise given the May deadline for the elections.
