New Delhi, October 3: Thousands of farmers ended their 10-day Kisan Kranti Padyatra after arriving at Kisan Ghat in the national capital on Wednesday. The farmers had begun their agitation over long pending demands on September 23 at Haridwar in Uttarakhand and marched towards the national capital. The protest was led by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Naresh Tikait, who declared it as the "victory of farmers" and said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has failed in its motives. Many farmers reached Delhi on foot and scores sitting atop tractors, buses and raising anti-BJP slogans. Delhi Police Blames Agitating Farmers For Violence, Protests to Continue.
The agitating farmers said they have reached an agreement with the Centre and informed that most of the demands have been considered. They added saying their prime demand of increasing the price of crops has been agreed upon by the government. The BKU, the body which organised the mega-march had on September 30 announced that their 'Padyatra' and had said it would begin from Haridwar and reach Delhi on the occasion of the 149th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2. Kisan Kranti Padyatra Turns Violent: Farmers Stopped on UP-Delhi Border, Police Use Water Cannons, Tear Gas Shells to Disperse Them; Watch Video.
On Tuesday, the agitating farmers, who were marching towards Delhi were stopped at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border. The Delhi Police stopped the protesting farmers by using water cannons and used tear gas shells to disperse them. Late at night, the barricades were removed and the farmers went on to complete their march. They reached Kisan Ghat and ended their protest. The government allowed them to enter Delhi in the early hours of Wednesday, ending the prolonged standoff between the police personnel and protesting farmers.
The farmers had been protesting over their demands including complete loan waiver, reduction in electricity tariff and pension to every farmer aged above 60. The government agreed to the majority of the demands raised by the agitating farmers. Kisan Kranti Padyatra: Modi Government is Anti-farmers, Says Sitaram Yechury.
Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said a consensus arrived after a meeting between the protesting farmers and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. "Home Minister Rajnath Singh met the farmers' leaders and discussed their demands. They have reached an agreement on the majority of the issues. Farmers' leaders, Uttar Pradesh ministers Laxmi Narayan ji, Suresh Rana ji and I will go to meet farmers now," Shekhawat added.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 03, 2018 08:29 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).