Farmers Movement Archive

Prayer meetings as protesting farmers to observe ‘Shradhanjali Diwas’ today

Farmers across the country will mark Sunday, December 20, as ‘Shradhanjali Diwas’ to pay homage to those who lost their lives in the ongoing protests against the three farm laws. Prayer meetings will be organised to recognise the sacrifices made by farmers since the agitation started, farmers’ leaders have said, reiterating their demand for a rollback of the farm laws. Also Read: Will bow my head in front of farmers, will discuss every issue, says PM ModiFarmers from Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Haryana have been protesting near the Haryana-Rajasthan border on the Delhi-Jaipur highway for the past seven days after the Rewari police stopped them from proceeding towards Delhi. Thousands of other farmers have been prevented from entering the national Capital and stopped at its borders with neighbouring states.“Lakhs of farmers are now on the streets surrounding Delhi amid the severe cold. They are braving the cold and other obstacles created by the government, as they are determined to achieve their goal. Their only demand is that the three anti-farmer laws should be revoked,” said a farmers’ leader while addressing a press conference from the protest site at Jaisinghpura-Khera village, near Shahajahanpur in Alwar of Rajasthan.Farmers protesting on the Delhi-Jaipur highway have also made arrangements for buses to ferry farmers in Rajasthan between their homes and protest sites, free of cost. These free bus services will enable more people to join the protests, farmers said.Also Read: Farmers uproot BJP workers’ tent in Fatehabad for fast backing farm lawsThe farmers are protesting as they feel the laws will put them at the mercy of large corporations and end the minimum support price (MSP) that they receive for important crops. Meanwhile, the Centre has claimed that the farmers have been misled into believing so and that the laws were a step towards making farmers’ lives better. “The laws in question have not been passed in Parliament in hurry; there have been decades of discussions,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, adding that the welfare of the farmers is the utmost priority of the government.The farmers are protesting against 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, which were passed in September.

Hindustan Times

20-12-2020

India