New Delhi, Sep 5: Thousands of farmers and labourers on Wednesday held 'Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Rally' from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament in Central Delhi, demanding remunerative prices for farm produce as per the Swaminathan Committee recommendations, loan waiver and a minimum wage of not less than Rs 18,000 a month.

The 'Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Rally' was organised by Communist Party of India (Marxist)-affiliated the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and All-India Agricultural Workers’ Union (AIAWU). Farmers and labourers also asked the government to stop 'forcible' land acquisition and to refrain from changing labour laws. Issues for 2019 LS Polls: From Women Empowerment to Farmers' Interests.

Central Delhi was turned into a sea of red flags as nearly 1.5 lakh farmers, and labourers from at least 23 states have participated in the protests, according to the organisers. Agitating farmers and labourers raised slogans against the policies of the BJP government and assailed the ruling party’s “communal and divisive” agenda. Jewar Airport: MLA Says 225 More Farmers Agree for Land Acquisition.

“The massive protest is a warning to the BJP government ahead of the Lok Sabha elections as for the last four years it has ignored the demands of the farmers and the workers. The BJP will have to pay a heavy price for it,” news agency Press Trust of India quoted Tapan Sen, general secretary of CITU, as saying.

The organisers said this was the first time after Independence that farmers and workers jointly participated in a rally against the government. Addressing the rally, AIKS leader Vijoo Krishnan claimed 36,000 farmers have committed suicide over the last few years and said the BJP government is piling up miseries on the marginalised section.

“For the last four years, this BJP government has fooled us. It has never done anything for the farmers. The government should give farmers a remunerative price as per the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee. The government policies are anti-people, and we will not tolerate this any further,” AIKS general secretary Hannan Mollah said. (With PTI Inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 05, 2018 09:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).