NEW DELHI: Opposition parties of all hues came together at the farmers protest here on Friday and attacked the Centre for its alleged pro-rich bias. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Sharad Yadav and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal shared the stage to demand higher prices for agriculture produce and loan waiver. Gandhi said no one could silence the voice of farmers. They were not demanding a “free gift” from the government by asking for a farm loan waiver but were only asking for what is due to them.
“If this government can waive `3.5 lakh crore loans of 15 big industrialists, why can’t the loans of farmers be waived,” Gandhi asked.Kejriwal said “the government had made a lot of promises to the farmers in the last elections but had not fulfilled them.”
Pawar said the condition of the farmers needs to be changed but the government was “not sympathetic” towards their plight. Yechury said this was the “same police station (Parliament Street police station) where Bhagat Singh was taken into custody for throwing a bomb (in the Legislative Assembly).”
Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar alleged that the government from the “very beginning had adopted pro-corporate policies and not a single major initiative for farmers had been launched.”
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh took to Twitter to criticise the Congress for taking part in the protest.
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heavyweights at the mammoth gathering