The development came a day after farmers rejected an offer by the government to defer the three reforms for one-and-half years.
They will hold a 100-km tractor rally in the national capital on Republic Day after getting a go-ahead from the Delhi Police that set aside the initial resistance from authorities for the demonstration, said farmers protesting the central government’s new agricultural laws. However, the police appeared to contradict the claim soon after.
Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava told NDTV: “Farmers have not given us any route in writing. We will let you know once we receive a route in written.”
Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar, after attending a meeting between the unions and the police earlier, said the tractor parades will start from the Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri border points of Delhi, and details will be finalised later in the day.
Darshan Pal, another farmer leader, said that barricades set up at Delhi border points, will be removed on January 26 and farmers will take out tractor rallies after entering the national capital.
The development came a day after farmers rejected an offer by the government to defer the three reforms for one-and-half years. The farmers also warned to step up the protests as they seek a repeal of the laws and a guarantee on minimum crop prices.
Hundreds of thousands of farmers from neighbouring states including Haryana, Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh plan to drive tractors through New Delhi on January 26, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join a parade of the armed forces, the farm leaders have said.
Though there were apprehensions shown by some former government officials that the protests could turn violent, the farm leaders said they would remain peaceful and urged the police to grant permission for the convoy to enter the capital.
Darshan Pal, one of the farm leaders told reporters after the meeting: “There is a sort of deadlock as the government repeated the offer of deferring the laws, which is not acceptable.”
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