Thousands of farmers demonstrate in New Delhi
Thousands of Indian farmers, angry at agricultural sector adjustments, on a third day of protests on the outskirts of the Indian capital, New Delhi, cut roads leading to the city, ignoring the government's plea for them to move to a place designated for the protest.
On Saturday, the government called on farmers' union leaders to hold talks on a new law to liberalize purchases of agricultural products, but this did not dampen farmers ’anger at what many consider" anti-farm laws ", and this position appears to be spreading.
"We are not leaving here today," said Rakesh Tikit, a spokesman for the Kisan Bharatiya Federation, one of more than 30 federations taking part in the protests while he and his comrades were cutting a road leading to Delhi from the east.
Under laws passed by the Modi government in September, farmers would be free to sell their produce anywhere, including large companies, rather than government-regulated wholesale markets where they were guaranteed a minimum purchase price.
But many small farmers fear that they will be at the mercy of big companies and that the government will eventually cancel price subsidies for basic commodities such as wheat and rice.
The government says it has no intention of abolishing wholesale markets and that farmers are free to choose buyers.
Modi sought to reassure farmers’s concerns today, Sunday, and said in his monthly speech on radio, "With these amendments, farmers will get new rights and opportunities."
However, an official in one of those unions said that many protesters are demanding that the government withdraw these laws.
akhbarelyom
