Farmer unions now announce plan to march towards Parliament on Budget day

The protesting farmers remain firm in their stand of repealing the three new farm laws

As caravans of tractors lined up at Delhi’s borders for Kisan Parade on Republic Day, agitating farmers on Monday declared that they would march on foot to Parliament on February 1 when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would present the Union Budget.

Farmer leaders also said they were ready to carry on with their agitation for the next three months and would not budge from their protest sites till the Modi government repealed the three farm laws.

Read: Farmers' tractor rally aims to overshadow India's show of military might on Republic Day

“We will march towards Parliament on foot from different locations on the budget day on February 1,” Darshan Pal, leader of the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha, the umbrella organisation leading the anti-reform protests, told a press conference here.

Thousands of tractors have lined up at the Tikri, Ghazipur, Singhu and Chilla borders of the national capital to take part in the Kisan Parade on various routes in Delhi to demand the repeal of the farm laws.

“The farmers who have come for the tractor parade will not go back now and will join the protest. The agitation will continue till our demands met. Our stand remains the same,” Pal said.

Earlier, Jamhuri Kisan Sabha chief Kulwant Singh Sandhu said the farmers were ready to camp at the protest sites for at least the next three months to demand the repeal of the laws.

Read: UP police direct petrol pump owners not to give fuel for tractors, withdraw order after backlash

A farmers' unions have exhorted its members to refrain from violence in the detailed instructions issued for the Kisan Parade.

“Remember, our aim is not to conquer Delhi, but to win over the hearts of the people of this county,” the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha said.

The negotiations between the farmers and the government have remained deadlocked as the protestors refused to accept Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s proposal to suspend the implementation of the three laws for 18 months till a mutually agreed solution is found.

The unions claimed that around two lakh tractors are expected to participate in their parade which will move into the city from three border points – Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur.