Thousands of farmers from Maharashtra’s Nashik district left for Mumbai on Saturday in protest against the Central government’s agriculture laws ahead of a massive rally at the Azad Maidan in the capital city on Monday.
Visuals from the rally showed farmers holding flags and banners, demanding the repeal of the farm laws, as they walked. Reports have said that the farmers will cover the majority of the distance between the two cities in vehicles.
The rally organised by Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha will be held in Mumbai on January 25, a statement issued by the organisation said.
Former Union agriculture minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar is expected to address the rally as is state Congress president Balasaheb Thorat and Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray. Subsequently, the farmers will march to the Raj Bhavan to present a memorandum to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
In Delhi, farmers have planned a tractor rally on January 26 as they continue their agitation, which began in November last year, in the national capital. Thousands of tractors are expected to take part in the rally on Ring Road in Delhi but the police say they are yet to give permission for the same.
The contentious laws, which have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector, were passed in September.
Farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been protesting at the border of Delhi, demanding that the controversial laws be repealed. Several rounds of talks between the government and farmer unions have failed to end the standoff with the Supreme Court appointing a committee for resolution.
