The protest of the farmers continues with the fight entering its 100th day against the current BJP government's three agriculture bills. To mark the 100th day protesters are blocking a major expressway outside New Delhi on Saturday.
Thousands of farmers across India have camped outside Delhi since November, expressing their anger towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the three farm laws be taken back as they say the laws will leave them at the mercy of large corporations.
According to union leaders, Farmers from the northern states of Punjab, Haryana and, Uttar Pradesh plan to halt all traffic on the six-lane Western Peripheral Expressway that forms a ring outside New Delhi for at least five hours.
According to the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), or United Farmers’ Front's spokesperson Darshan Pal “We believe that after these 100 days, our movement will put a moral pressure on the government to accede to our demands, because the weather will also worsen. It will weaken the government, which will have to sit down with us to talk again.”
The government's stance is that the changes will bring investment to the agriculture markets and the bills will aide farmers. The new players would operate alongside government-regulated market yards, where farmers are assured of a minimum price for their produce.
Many discussions have taken place between the government and farm leaders without any resolve and the movement has gained widespread support, including from international celebrities such as pop singer Rihanna and climate activist, Greta Thunberg posing one of the biggest challenges to Prime Minister Modi since he took power in 2014.
Video courtesy of NDTV/YouTube.
Photo courtesy of Associated Press /Altaf Qadri
