By Mayank Bhardwaj
NEW DELHI, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Hundreds of Indian farmers gathered at a grain market outdoors New Delhi on Tuesday in protest in opposition to new agricultural legal guidelines they are saying threaten their livelihoods, condemning “brutal” actions by police throughout related demonstrations final week.
“Numerous farmers are attending the assembly to ask the federal government to punish these accountable for utilizing drive in opposition to unarmed and aged farmers,” mentioned Balbir Singh Rajewal, a senior farmers’ chief.
The grain market the place farmers met is about 150 km (93 miles) from New Delhi, in neighbouring Haryana state. After preliminary talks with authorities officers failed, farmers later marched from the market to the principle authorities workplace within the Karnal district of Haryana to press their calls for, Rajewal mentioned.
Some farm union leaders have been arrested by Haryana police, however farmers are going to remain put there, he mentioned.
“Using extra, disproportionate drive was not solely brutal, however it was additionally a vengeful act,” Rajewal mentioned.
Final month, about 10 farmers had been injured after police resorted to baton expenses to cease protesters from blocking a Haryana freeway. One farmer died later though officers say the loss of life was not attributable to baton accidents.
Authorities in Haryana stepped up safety and shut down cellular web companies, state authorities officers mentioned. Along with a big police deployment, the federal government has additionally positioned paramilitary forces, they mentioned.
For greater than eight months, tens of hundreds of farmers have camped on main highways to New Delhi to oppose the farm legal guidelines in India’s longest-running growers’ protest.
Greater than half 1,000,000 farmers participated in a protest in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday – the largest rally but – demanding the withdrawal of the legal guidelines, launched in September final 12 months.
Farm leaders say the legal guidelines would erode a longstanding mechanism that ensures farmers a minimal assured worth for his or her rice and wheat, however the authorities says it will assist growers get higher costs.
(Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj Enhancing by Sam Holmes, William Maclean)
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