Indian farmers protesting the new agricultural law in the national capital, Delhi, have called off the February 1 protests abruptly. It comes a day after the violent clashes with the local police officials left hundreds of people injured and one protester dead.
For the last two months, tens of thousands of farmers are camped out on the outskirts of New Delhi, demanding the government to withdraw the three farm laws passed last year. The demonstrators maintain that the new laws will exploit the farmers and benefit big private buyers.
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On Tuesday, the symbolic tractor parade in New Delhi that coincided with the Republican Day celebration turned violent when the farmers diverged from the agreed routes and broke the historic Red Fort’s security barricades. The group of farm unions organizing the protests, Samyukt Kisan Morcha, condemned the violence and blamed the violence on the outside elements.
On Wednesday, the group said that the unions would hold hunger strikes and rallies on Saturday and added that there would be no planned demonstrations on Monday when the Union Finance Minister is expected to present the annual budget.
Balbir Rajewal, the farm leader, told the news channels that their march towards the parliament has been postponed. However, he vowed that the movement would go on. On the same day, at a separate news conference, the city’s police told the news reporters that as many as 349 police officers were injured in Tuesday’s violence in the capital.
SN Srivastava added that so far, the police officials have filled more than twenty-five criminal cases, with nineteen arrests and fifty detainees. On the other hand, it remained unclear that how many farmers were injured during the clashes with police officers. But the farmer leaders criticized the violence, maintaining that it undermined their cause.
The employees linked to the agricultural economy are about India’s half of 1.3 billion population. Political experts have dubbed the latest unrest among 150 million farmers in India as the biggest challenge to the incumbent government since it assumed power in 2014. Even though the mass protests in the country show a decline in Narendra Modi’s popularity, he retains a solid majority in the national parliament. So far, the government has shown no signs of easing the laws and maintained that the new law would open up new avenues for the indian farmers.