Villagers Ask Farmers To Vacate Highways: All You Need To Know About Farmers' Protest

In a joint statement released by 16 opposition parties, it was announced that the opposition parties will boycott the President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament on January 29 because of the ongoing farmers' issue.

The Opposition leaders expressed their solidarity with the protesting farmers and reiterated their demand for the repeal of the three new farm laws.

ANI

Political parties lend support farmers

The 16 Opposition parties also demand a probe into the Centre's role in violence on Republic Day in Delhi, said the leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha while speaking to the media with Congress' chief whip in Lok Sabha, K Suresh, by his side.

Congress had held Union Home Minister Amit Shah responsible for the violence that shook the national capital on Republic Day and said he should be sacked immediately.

AP

Congress had also accused the Modi government of being part of a concerted conspiracy to malign the farmers' agitation by allowing some miscreants to enter the Red Fort complex and hoist a religious flag, in their bid to ensure that the farmers bury their demand for the repeal of the three new agri laws.

President Ram Nath Kovind would address the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament on January 29.

ANI

Villagers stage protest

Meanwhile, protests broke out at Singhu border in Delhi on Thursday when people claiming to be locals took out a march, asking protesting farmers to vacate the highway.

A group of people, who claimed to be residents of Singhu border area, came out on roads on Thursday afternoon and demanded that farmers vacate the highway. With tricolor in their hands, angry villagers raised slogans ¡®Singhu border khali karokaro karo¡¯ (vacate Singhu border).

A group of people, who claimed to be residents of #Singhuborder area in #Delhi, staged a protest and demanded farmers to vacate the area where they have been protesting for over 60 days.#FarmersProtest #FarmLaws #ITCard

More details here: https://t.co/QTVdB1pgul pic.twitter.com/fBG4zmeKVv

¡ª IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) January 28, 2021

Speaking to India Today, a protester said he joined the march for his business has been badly affected due to the ongoing farmers¡¯ agitation at Singhu border.

Another told India Today that the protest was against the insult to tricolor by farmers on Republic Day tractor rally in Delhi.

Protesters had on January 26 hoisted flags on the domes of Red Fort and placed the flagstaff at the ramparts of the monument.

R-Day tractor rally violence

The protest by Singhu villagers comes days after fthousands of farmers came to New Delhi on Republic Day as part of their tractor parade to press their demand for the repeal of the Centre's contentious farm laws. They broke barricades to ensure the movement of the parade, police used tear gas shells and lathicharge in order to stop them.

BCCL

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at several Delhi border points, including Singhu, since November 28 last year, demanding the repeal of the farm laws and a legal guarantee on minimum support price for their crops.