Farmers' protest: Yechury cautions govt of mass movement

Mumbai (Maharashtra): Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday cautioned the government of a mass movement if the demands of farmers remain unfulfilled.

The CPIM leader further said that the next protest will not remain confined to farmers alone.

"This time there were written agreements over the demands. The government now has six months' time. If they do not meet the demands of the farmers, the next stage of this protest will not stay confined to farmers alone. It will be a mass movement," Sitaram Yechury told ANI.

Yechury further averred that this march started long back when the promises made by the government were not fulfilled.

"BJP and government want 'Vipaksh Mukt Bharat', our and farmers' demand is 'Karza Mukt Bharat'. In 2016, more than 1 Lakh farmers had protested in Nashik over the same issue. This long march started after govt went back on their promises back then," Sitaram Yechury added.

After holding a meeting with a delegation of farmers in Mumbai, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday evening accepted most of their demands.

"We have accepted most of their demands and have given them a written letter," said Fadnavis after concluding the meeting at the Vidhan Bhawan here.

Over 30,000 farmers held a protest march, walking for about 180 km in the sun from CBS Chowk in Nashik to Mumbai's Azad Maidan.

The protest, which was held to demand a complete loan waiver among other things, commenced on March 5.

The farmers of the state have been demanding an unconditional waiver of loans and electricity bills; implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations; announcement of minimum support price for agriculture produce; and a pension scheme for farmers.

The Central Railways will run two special trains from Mumbai's CSMT to Bhusawal at 8.50 pm and 10.00 pm today to send the agitating farmers back.