Centre must answer for 'insult' of 'martyrdom' of farmers protesting at Delhi borders: Rahul Gandhi

Hundreds of farmers are camping at Delhi's border points since November demanding a repeal of the three farm laws

On the occasion of 'Shaheed Diwas', Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hailed the sacrifices of soldiers at the country's borders and farmers protesting at Delhi's borders, and said the Centre must answer for the "insult" of their "martyrdom".

March 23 is observed as 'Shaheed Diwas' to pay tribute to Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru who were executed by the British government for killing British police officer J P Saunders. The trio wanted to avenge the death of freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai.

In a tweet in Hindi, Gandhi said, "Sacrifice -- of the soldiers at the country's borders and farmers sitting at the borders of Delhi. The central government must answer for the insult of their martyrdom."

Hundreds of farmers are camping at Delhi's border points at Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri since November last year demanding that the Centre repeal the three contentious farm laws.

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Enacted in September, the three farm laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

The protesting farmers, on the other hand, have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and do away with the "mandi" (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.