LUCKNOW: Ahead of farmers' tractor rally on Republic day, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has urged the Centre to withdraw the new farm laws.
In a tweet in Hindi, Mayawati said: "To fulfill the demands of the agitating farmers, BSP requests the Central Government to withdraw these farm laws. I hope that no new tradition starts on Republic Day and there is no untoward incident in the national capital."
Farmers are expected to march towards Delhi in order to take part in the scheduled tractor rally. Hundreds of tractors along with trolleys are already lined up at the Ghaziabad-Delhi carriageway of the Delhi Meerut Expressway and the beeline has now extended up to Noida.
The 11th round of talks held between farmers and the government on Friday remained inconclusive after the former insisted on their demand to repeal the three new farm laws and the latter asked them to reconsider its offer to put these laws on hold for about 18 months.
Meanwhile, all the six entry points in Meerut have been put on round the clock CCTV surveillance. Kharkhauda on Meerut-Bulandshahr highway, Mohideenpur on Delhi-Meerut highway, Jani Nahar Pul on Muradnagar-Khatuali Ganga Nahar, Dadri on Delhi-Doon highway, Shahjahanpur on Meerut-Garhmukteshwar highway, Suroorpur Bhooni roundabout on Meerut-Karnal highway, Ramraj on Meerut–Bijnore highway have been put on 24x7 surveillance with the heavy deployment of police forces.
Moreover, hundreds of farmer groups are headed to UP Gate from different parts of UP, and Uttarakhand. Most of the farmer groups are using the NH-9 and Delhi-Meerut Road to reach UP Gate in Ghaziabad.
The farmers joining the UP Gate protesters were allotted tents by the UP Gate farmers’ committee while many have come with their trolleys attached, on which they have set up small huts covered with tarpaulin for shelter.
“We have asked our farmers to come with trolleys and bring food items for about five-seven days. We have no count of how many will come but they are coming in hundreds and will gather at UP Gate till late Tuesday. We are coordinating with district officials and our volunteers are ready to ensure that our tractor
parade goes on in a peaceful manner,” said Rakesh Tikait, farmers’ leader and national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU).
Meanwhile, farmers camping at the Chilla border are also busy preparing for the rally on January 26, after getting the nod from the Delhi Police.
As per the sources, farmers said that they would coordinate with the police and district administration to avoid any confrontations and to carry out a peaceful parade.