Over 1,000 farmers from states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana gathered at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday to protest against the government's policies. The farmers who are part of the Kissan Mukti Sangathan were demanding that government provide a fair price for crops, increase pensions and a complete loan waiver.
Politicians too joined the farmers in their protest. CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader and MP Raju Shetty, Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant, and social activist Medha Patekar, also joined the farmers in their protest. Orphans of farmers who had committed suicide were also present at the protest.
Speaking on the occasion, Yechury said, "I took the pledge to fight for the rights of the farmers and I promise you that I am going to take this fight to the Parliament."
Senior political leader Sharad Yadav agreed with Yechury and added. "This is not just a fight for farmers but for the whole country. And while you are fighting this fight here outside Parliament, I assure you that I will take this fight inside Parliament." The JD(U) leader also promised to rally the whole Opposition to support the farmers in their fight.
Meanwhile, farmers alleged that the BJP, before the polls, had promised to implement various measures to help them, but once the party had come to power they had forgotten about it.
"Before Modi came to power, he promised us that the Swaminathan Ayogya Seva program would be introduced where we could get one and half times more profit from our yield. But none of the promises have been fulfilled in these past three years. We don't even have enough capital to yield crops. We are all buried under debt. We want the government to free us from these debts," said Gajanand Patil, a farmer from Maharashtra.
He added, "We have already lost so many friends, so many of them have committed suicide due to debts. That is why we have come all the way from our native places just to urge the government to fulfill our demands."
Statistics show over 12,000 suicides were reported in the agricultural sector every year since 2013. In 2016, the National Crime Records Bureau of India reported 6,867 farmer suicides just from five states Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telengana and Tamil Nadu.
Apart from demanding fair prices and the removal of crushing debt, farmers too wanted justice. Former MLA Dr. Sunilam, who was one of the organisers of the protest demanded that action must be taken against the police officers who shot dead six farmers in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh on June 6.
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