Thousands of Haryana farmers protest against new farm laws

Thousands of Indian farmers have gathered at Haryana in a renewed push to pressure the government to repeal new farm laws. As per reports, at least 4000 farmers are participating in this rally that is taking place in the Karnal district.

Authorities have imposed some restrictions on the gatherings. There is a snapping of internet services ahead of this protest. Farmers will march to the mini-secretariat and will occupy the streets. Authorities have imposed tight security in those areas. There is the deployment of hundreds of policies amidst the maze of barricades. Authorities said that they would not tolerate the blocking of highways. However, protesters are saying that they will break the barrier and move forward.

Previously a rally in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh took place. It is the largest-ever protest by farmers until now. Thousands of farmers have been on strike since the start of November. They are demanding new farm laws, which they think will shrink their income.

The government said that legislation would help farmers in the long term. But farmers are saying that these laws will weaken their position and will make them highly dependent on corporations. Protesters have been camping on high roads in the outskirts of Delhi for the last 10 months. A nationwide strike is about to take place on 27th September to strengthen the protest against the laws.

The demonstrations are presenting that it is one of the bigger challenges for prime minister Narendra Modi. Tuesday’s protest had been organized in response to the violence that took place during a similar demonstration in Karnal on 28th August.

While farmers blocked the highway, police started baton-charge to disperse them. At least 10 people have been injured in this violence, while one of them died due to a heart attack. The tensions heightened as a video of a top government official instructing police to ” smash the heads of farmers” is surfacing.

The video shows Ayush Sinha encouraging officers to use force against farmers to prevent them. CM of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar has criticized his choice of words. Authorities have removed Mr. Sinha from his post.

Farmers are demanding a murder case against him. They have also sought a compensation of 2.5m rupees and a government job for the king of the protestor who died. Farmer leaders have offered a deadline of 6 September for the government to accept their demands.

Credits: BBC