Written by Prakriti Panwar, a grade 11 student

Farmers have been protesting against the centre’s farm laws for a long time now. One of the main bones of contention between the two parties is the Government’s proposal to impose a fee on private mandis, which is extremely disadvantageous for farmers.

Read more about this issue here.

While several talks have taken place between the parties, the laws still haven’t been changed. Farmers continue to protest at Delhi’s border.  Farm Unions have also organised a ‘tractor march’ for 26th January to hold a much bigger protest.

On 7th January, the farmers held a tractor march as a ‘dress rehearsal’  for the final one to be held on 26th January.

This was held just before the eighth round of talks between the government and the farmers, which failed, and there now exists a deadlock. They drove their tractors mainly through Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) and Manesar (Haryana). The rally was organised by Sanyuta Kisan Morcha, which consists of 40 other framers’ unions.

What happened at the dress rehearsal?

During their ‘dress rehearsal,’ farmers waved the flag and played Punjabi songs against the government. Quite a few commuters were advised by the traffic police to take other routes for travelling. Security too was strengthened.

The upcoming  Supreme Court hearing on 11th January will be aimed at hearing farmer’s pleas against the laws and other important concerns regarding the protests.

However, a few BJP leaders are criticizing the dress rehearsal tractor march. Shahnawaz Hussian, a BJP Spokesperson, said,  “It is not correct to call for any movement when the talks are underway. Farmers should have waited till January 8 talks with the Centre before calling for a tractor march. The last two rounds of talks had ended on a positive note and we are hopeful for a solution in the next round.”

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