COURTESY HT DEC 19

Maha farmers plan to join protests in Delhi
Eeshanpriya MS

eeshanpriya@htlive.com

Mumbai : Farmers from Maharashtra will organise a vehicle march from Nashik to Delhi on December 21 and join those protesting against the contentious agri laws at the borders of the national capital since the past three weeks, farmer leaders said on Friday.

Farmers from 20 districts of the state will gather at Nashik and travel 1,266 kilometres to Delhi and join the protests at the Rajasthan-Haryana border on December 24, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) announced at a press conference in Nashik.

Ashok Dhawale, president, AIKS, said in the statement, “The Vehicle Jatha will begin with a massive public meeting at Nashik on December 21 afternoon. It will be welcomed by thousands of people at Ozar, Pimpalgaon Baswant, Chandwad, Umrane, Malegaon, Dhule and Shirpur in Nashik and Dhule districts of Maharashtra before entering Madhya Pradesh.”

“In November, we had taken a call not to march to Delhi from Maharashtra owing to the Covid-19 situation. However, the government is being very obstinate. It is also running propaganda that whatever is happening in Delhi is only because of farmers from Punjab and Haryana. That argument needs to be razed. Now, when thousands of farmers from Maharashtra will travel around 1,300 kilometres to participate in the protest, it will effectively counter the government’s argument,” said Dhawale.

The farmers will support the main demands of those already protesting in the Capital, including asking for the three farm laws to be repealed.