Congressional leaders led by Rahul Gandhi, who were marching towards Rashtrapati Bhavan, were detained by the police before a small delegation was allowed to enter the presidential palace to present President Ram Nath Kovind with a memorandum requesting their intervention for the withdrawal of the agricultural laws against which thousands of farmers have been protesting near Delhi for almost a month. Gandhi’s sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and several other leaders were detained by the police and fired on a bus after they were detained. They are expected to be released shortly.
The appeal to the president has two million signatures urging his intervention to repeal the three controversial laws.
“The farmers are not leaving. The prime minister must know this,” Gandhi said after meeting with the president.
“Any dissent against this government is classified as elements of terror. We are taking this march to express our support for farmers,” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, sitting on the road.
Soon after, Ms. Gandhi-Vadra attacked the center again, calling the government a “sinner.” “Sometimes they say that we are so weak that we do not qualify as Opposition and sometimes they say that we are so powerful that we have done hundreds of thousands of farmer camps on the (Delhi) border for a month. They should first decide what.” we are, “she told reporters from inside the green DTC bus in which she and other leaders were being held.
“It is a sin to use the kind of names they used for farmers. If the government calls them anti-nationals, then the government is a sinner,” he said.
Before starting the march from Vijay Chowk in central Delhi, Gandhi met with senior congressional leaders at party headquarters, where the leaders gave speeches on farm laws.
“Only leaders who have permission will be allowed (to go to Rashtrapati Bhavan),” said police officer Pragya.
Opposition parties, which tried to block agricultural bills in parliament, had previously asked the president not to sign them. The bills, they had said, were passed in the Rajya Sabha in an undemocratic manner. However, the president had consented to all three bills. Rahul Gandhi was part of the opposition meeting with President Kovind on December 9.
Thousands of farmers, who have defied water cannons, tear gas and police barricades, began their protest last month against the farm laws, aimed at ending middlemen and allowing them to sell products anywhere in the country. Farmers say the laws will deprive them of minimum prices set by the government and leave them at the mercy of companies.
The government has been urging farmers to participate in new talks to end the stalemate. On Wednesday, farmers’ groups said they are ready to hold talks with the government, but are waiting for the government to keep the discussions open-minded and come up with concrete proposals that are acceptable.
The protests blocked the roads connecting the national capital with the neighboring states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, affecting public transport and the supply of fruits and vegetables.
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