Farmers paint Delhi roads in red; seek loan waiver, minimum wage

Upset with Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government, farmers from all parts of the country — from Kerala and Bengal to  Haryana — marched in the national capital carrying red flags in hands on Wednesday. Shouting slogans for reforms in the key government policies on farmers’ compensation, minimum wage and land rights, the farmers drew the attention of the government to what they say is an agrarian crisis in the country.

The rally — organised by Left-leaning farmers’ and workers’ group — turned Delhi in red for the entire day, where farmers questioned the government on the promises made to them before 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Among the key demands, that the protestors sought include — minimum wage for Rs. 18,000 for all workers, retraction of labour law amendments, implementation of re-distributive land reforms, and the implementation of minimum support price and a one-time farm loan waiver.

Speaking to the media, while showing the anger, vice-president of the All India Kisan Sabha, Amara Ram said, as quoted by NDTV, “If they don’t deliver on promises, we will vote out the government in the semi-final in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and then in 2019 as well.” Similar views were expressed by another farmer, who said, “Nothing makes a difference to the government. They just make promises. We marched in Mumbai, took trains here, took so much trouble, when will the government understand?”

Some of the farmers were demanding loan-waiver, while some wanted implementation of re-distributive land reforms. A farmer from Maharashtra said, “We don’t have land. The land we work on in the forest, we should get it.”

The march conducted by CPM’s farmer’s and labours’ wing — Center for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) — marched from Ramlila Maidan to central Delhi’s Parliament Street. Due to this rally, traffic was hit and people were forced to take several diversions to reach their destination.

Announcing the success of the march, CPM tweeted from its official party handle, “This is the biggest rally of the working people that Delhi has seen in decades. The entire 1 km stretch from Parliament Street police station to the outer circle of Connaught circus is full of people carrying Red Flags, so is the Tolstoy marg.” The organisers also said that another massive rally is planned for November 15.

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