Thousands of farmers from different parts of the country have descended on Delhi to pressure the federal government on their demands.
For this, the farmers are participating in a major congregation called "Kisan Mahapanchayat" at the Ramlila Maidan, the main protest site in the city.
The gathering, organized by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), a body comprising several farmer unions, intends to seek a guarantee on a minimum support price (MSP) for their produce, apart from other demands.
What Do Indian Farmers Demand?
Avik Saha, a member of the national coordination committee of SKM, told Sputnik: “We have gathered here with an aim to keep some of our demands in front of the government which were promised when we called off our protest in 2021.”
“The major demands are the legal guarantee of MSP, waiver of all loans of all farmers, compensation to all the farmers who have suffered losses due to price crash of crops like potatoes, tomatoes, and onions, replace the ineffective and virtually abandoned Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (government-sponsored crop insurance scheme) and withdrawal of Electricity Amendment Bill 2022,” he added.
Saha said that a delegation of SKM would meet federal Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar later in the day and submit a memorandum.
Asked about the continuation of the protest, the SKM functionary responded, “today, we have organized a mahapanchayat (several councils coming together — ed. note) and will wait for the reaction from the government over our demands."
"If the response from the government is positive, there will be no need of the protest. But if the response is negative, we will formulate the strategy and decide about further course of action,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Delhi police beefed up the security in the capital city in the wake of the planned farmers' protest and issued a traffic advisory for the general public to prevent inconvenience to daily commuters.
SKM, the farmers’ body which spearheaded the year-long protest against the now-repealed farm laws, wants a legal guarantee for the minimum support price.
Other demands include withdrawal of cases against farmers, pension, debt waiver, the sacking of federal Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra, whose son is an accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, and compensation for those who died during the farmers' protest disorder.