As a rehearsal for January 26 show of strength thousands of protesting farmers took out a massive Tractor Rally on Thursday. As the eighth round of talks with the Centre is scheduled on Jan 8 the farmers’ have used the occasion to build up pressure on the government.
As tractors symbolize the Green Revolution, which made India ‘atma nirbhar’ (self-sufficient) in food several decades back the farmers used them to register their protest against the three farm laws.
They undertook the Tractor Rally from five different points on the Peripheral Highway of Delhi. They all converged to Palwal in Haryana and then returned to their respective places.
Later the farmers claimed that it was just a rehearsal and they would once again take out a similar Tractor March on Republic Day, that is January 26.
While they claimed that they would not disturb the Republic Day Parade several leaders of farmers unions said that unlike Jan 7 rally, the tractors would march to Red Fort on Jan 26.
As the farmers couldn’t achieve much in the seventh round of talks on January 4 they are just keeping their fingers crossed for January 8 talks. Thursday’s Tractor Rally was actually scheduled for January 6 but it was postponed for a day because of heavy rain and cold wave. The police version is that 2,500 tractors took part in Thursday’s rally. But the farmers claim that their number was many times more. Farmers took out separate tractor rallies in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.
