Farmers take protest to country's power centre, non-BJP parties join in show of strength

Thousands of farmers marched through the streets of the capital, chanting slogans and flashing flags, to press their demands like debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce and were joined by social activists and leaders of non-BJP parties in a show of strength near Parliament here.

The farmers, who had gathered from various states and camped at the Ramlila ground overnight, started their march around 10.30 am amid heavy policy deployment, only to be stopped at the Parliament Street police station.

The government came in for severe criticism for "not implementing a single major initiative for farmers in the past four and a half years".

National secretary of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) Asish Mittal said farmers from 24 states joined the protest. Banded under the AIKSCC, which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, many protesters arrived in the city on Thursday, on trains, buses and other modes of transport.

A group of farmers from Tamil Nadu staged a 'nude protest' by lying in front of the stage after placing bones and human skulls on their bodies.

About 1,300 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Farmers Association reached the national capital in the early hours of Thursday and were carrying seven skulls and bones, said their leader P Ayyakannu.

He said the skulls and bones were of the farmers who committed suicide.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader S Sudhakar Reddy, AAP MP Sanjay Singh and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah were among the leaders who joined the farmers at Jantar Mantar.

While Gandhi said leaders of all opposition parties stand united with farmers in ensuring their good future and called for a farm loan waiver, Kejriwal alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "stabbed farmers in the back" by not fulfilling the promises made to them.

Gandhi said that no one can silence the voice of farmers and youth while asserting that if the government insults them, then they will ensure its removal. He added that the farmers were not seeking a "free gift" from the government by asking for a farm loan waiver but were only asking for what is due to them.

"If this government can waive Rs 3.5 lakh crore loans of 15 big industrialists, why can't the loans of crores of farmers in the country be waived," he asked.

Kejriwal claimed that the Centre had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying it would not implement the M S Swaminathan Commission report. "The government had also made lot of promises to farmers in last elections (2014), but it has not fulfilled those promises. And, by not implementing the Swaminathan Commission report, Modi ji has stabbed the farmers in their back (kisano ke peeth mey chhura bhonka hai)."