Farmer unions observe 'black day' to mark 6 months of farmers' protest against farm laws
Delhi Police have appealed to people to not gather in large numbers in light of Covid-19 guidelines.
FollowFarmer unions observed 'black day' on Wednesday to mark the completion of six months of their protest against the three farm laws.
Twelve major opposition parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Left parties, Samajwadi Party, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and DMK, last week extended their support to the protest.
“There will be no crowding or public meeting and no one would be marching towards Delhi on the ‘Black Day’. Farmers and supporters of our cause will simply hoist black flags wherever they are,” said farmer leader Rakesh Tikait of BKU (Tikait).
Bolstered by the outcome of their agitation at Hisar where the district administration finally agreed to drop FIRs against farmers on Monday, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the joint platform spearheading the agitation for repeal of farm laws, urged citizens on Tuesday to show their resistance to the Modi government and appealed to them to use social media to the maximum extent to mark the ‘Black Day’.
A large number of farmers had gathered at Krantiman Park in Hisar, demanding dropping of FIRs against fellow protesters who were booked for demonstrating at a programme attended by Haryana chief minister M L Khattar on May 16. Divisional commissioner of Hisar, however, discussed the matter with the farmer leaders and agreed to withdraw all cases.
As a part of the protest, black flags have been placed at three borders of the national capital where the farmer groups are protesting. The farmer unions have appealed to participating farmers/ protestors to maintain peace during the agitation. The appeal is significant, given that a similar rally called on January 26 this year had turned violent and protestors had hoisted flags atop Red Fort.
The Delhi Police have urged people not to hold gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing lockdown and said it is keeping a tight vigil to deal with any situation at the protest sites on the city's borders. Delhi Police’s spokesperson Chinmoy Biswal said action will be taken against those who try to take the law into their hands, adding that the force is already present at all borders points, including the protest sites of Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur, and will not allow any illegal activity or entry.
The ongoing stir against the three farm laws began on November 26 last year after the Centre passed three laws, namely- The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act.
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