Indian farmers to intensify protests defying PM’s call

Thousands of Indian farmers will take out a tractor rally to block the Delhi-Jaipur highway today, demonstrators protesting the centre's new agricultural laws said yesterday, vowing to intensify their agitation despite a fresh appeal from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  

Protesters will also hold a nationwide demonstration at all district offices tomorrow and hold a hunger strike from 8 am to 5 pm, they said.

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Modi yesterday tried to assure farmers that reforms in the agrarian sector were aimed at helping them as thousands of farmers continued protests against three new laws to overhaul procurement and sale of produce.

"Reforms will help draw investment in agriculture and benefit farmers," he said at the annual meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi.

"The aim of the all government reforms is to make farmers' prosperous," he said adding that private sector must help improve the country's agriculture sector.

But protesting farmers in northern states fear the new legislation will eventually dismantle India's regulated markets and stop the government from buying wheat and rice at guaranteed prices, leaving them at the mercy of private buyers.

At least 30 farmer unions are actively protesting against the new laws. Talks between leaders of the farmers' unions and government officials have failed to break the deadlock with the farmers demanding the complete rollback of the reforms. Farmer unions have said the new laws were introduced without consultation.

Last weekend, thousands of members of the Indian diaspora held rallies in London against the new laws while over 15 Indian opposition parties supported the protest.