New Delhi:
Agitating farmers called off their protest - Kisan Kranti Yatra -on reaching Delhi’s Kisan Ghat – the memorial of Chaudhary Charan Singh – early Wednesday as the Central government agreed to seven of their demands, putting an end to the standoff between the protesting farmers and the police authorities.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Yudhvir Singh said that the government had agreed upon seven of their demands but will discuss the remaining in a further meeting. The demands include implementation of the MS Swaminathan Commission report, provide free electricity to the farmers, farm loan waiver, and power connections to farmers to run tube-wells
"We had a discussion on 11 points. Govt agreed on 7 points but didn't agree on 4 points yet. They said they will have to think about those meetings in a further meeting after which they will tell us, as it is a financial matter," said Yudhvir Singh, Bharatiya Kisan Union Spokesperson.
The Kisan Kranti Yatra, led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Naresh Tikait, witnessed around 200 tractors with thousands of farmers, with blisters on feet, shouting anti-BJP slogans, reach Kisan Ghat in Delhi.
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Tikait termed the protest as a “victory of farmers” while adding that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has let every down and failed in it’s “motives”.
"The farmers remained unfazed despite all the hardships. We have been marching for 12 days now, farmers are tired as well. We will continue to demand our rights to the government but for now we are ending the march," Tikait told News Agency IANS at Kisan Ghat.
The 'Kisan Kranti Padyatra' that started on Sept 23 had to end at Delhi's Kisan Ghat. Since Delhi police didn't allow us to enter we protested. Our aim was to finish the yatra which has been done. Now we'll go back to our villages: Naresh Tikait, President, Bharatiya Kisan Union pic.twitter.com/P7xvF4YTFI
— ANI (@ANI) October 2, 2018
Earlier on Tuesday, the face-off between police and farmers turned violent as the farmers, part of the Kisan Kranti Yatra, tried to enter the national capital via the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, leaving many of both the farmers and police personnel injured.
The farmers had earlier stated that they will not accept the government’s assurance, despite Home Minister Rajnath Singh saying that they will be “agreeing on most issues.”
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Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to micro-blogging platform Twitter to criticise the Modi government over the violent police action against the farms at the UP-Delhi border.
“On the World 'Ahimsa' Day, the BJP's Gandhi Jayanti programme began with peaceful Delhi-bound farmers being brutally beaten up. Now, farmers can't even express their pain by coming to the national capital!” Rahul Gandhi tweeted.
Earlier News Agency ANI reported that all schools and colleges in Ghaziabad will remain shut on Wednesday as a preventive measure to avoid any mishap in the view of the farmers’ agitation.
#WATCH: Farmers who were stopped during 'Kisan Kranti Padyatra' yesterday are moving towards Delhi's Kisan Ghat after police opened barricades at Delhi-UP border. pic.twitter.com/byNIu549Am
— ANI (@ANI) October 2, 2018
"This is the height of the BJP government's anarchy and it shall remain prepared to bear its consequences. The BJP, which came to power promising to bring the good days of the farmers' by doubling their income, has targeted them with tear-gas shells, lathis when they only wanted to march to the Gandhi sthal on Gandhi Jayanti and hold protest demonstration over their problems," said Mayawati, while condemning the lathi-charge by police on the farmers.
The Delhi police said that the agitators turned violent despite repetitive notifications by the authority to wait for the outcome of the talks.
“Despite persuasive methods requesting them to wait till outcome of talks of their leaders with government, a section of crowd turned violent and tried to break barricades forcefully through tractor-trolleys and were also carrying lathis,” the police said in a statement.
