Bengaluru City Police on Monday halted the entry of tractors into the city ahead of the planned Republic Day farmers’ parade, citing that the tractors will cause inconvenience to the public. However, this has triggered outrage among civil society groups who are now lending their support.
"If farmers come in cars, buses and jeeps, there is no problem. Whatever permissions we have been giving (for rallies) will be given. There is no permission to do any tractor rally," Kamal Pant, Bengaluru Police Commissioner told reporters.
It was earlier reported that several farmer groups in Karnataka had decided to take out a tractor rally on Republic Day in Bengaluru to show solidarity with the farmers in Delhi. The farmers coming from various parts of the city were set to assemble in Freedom Park on Tuesday afternoon.
As widely reported, farmers camped in Delhi have beeen protesting against the three contentious farm laws for more than two months. A Republic Day rally is set to be held on the Outer Ring Road.
“In some districts and outside the Bengaluru limits, some farmers are being stopped. We have requested the police authorities to allow the farmers to come to the city as we will hold peaceful protests only. Now if the farmers can’t make their way into the city because of this, then we will not be responsible if the farmers block highways,” Khet Mazdoor Congress President Sachin Meega told TNM.
He added some farmers with their tractors have already made their way into the city for the parade.
"We have sought police permission to lead the protest rally in 10,000 tractors to Freedom Park in city from Nelamangla in solidarity with our colleagues in the northern region who are going to Delhi in thousands of tractors, seeking repeal of the three anti-farmers laws," Kodihalli Chandrashekar, president of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha told reporters.
"As Delhi police allowed thousands of farmers to enter the national capital in tractors for their protest rally after the Republic Day parade, the city police should not prevent us from staging a similar rally," asserted Chandrashekar, the president of the apex body of about 30 farmers' associations across the state.