Farmers associations and groups from across the country are travelling to Delhi to protest against the three farm acts passed by the central government. Among them includes farmer associations from across Karnataka, who travelled for the protest. The two-day protest began on Thursday, the constitution day. The protest is being led by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee and the National Alliance of People's Movements.
Kodihalli Chandrashekar, President of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must listen to our issues farmers are suffering. "In the past, whenever farmers have protested, Prime Ministers have met them and listened to their problems. But Narendra Modi does not even want to meet us. We just want to be heard," Kodihalli Chandrashekar said. He said that the representatives of farmers' associations in Karnataka travelled to Delhi on Thursday as they were apprehensive about the potential health problems farmers could face if they travelled en masse. He said that farmers across the country are deeply "hurt" by the Union government's "unwillingness to consider their plight".
"We are demanding that the three bills be rolled back immediately. We want fair prices for our produce. We have not asked for much," Kodihalli Chandrashekar said.
Speaking about the Delhi Chalo protest, Jnana Sindhu Swamy of National Alliance of People's Movement says, "We chose the Constitution day to question the unconstitutional farm acts. The three acts are interrelated and they only help the big corporates. The model proposed by these bills is practised in South Africa and Brazil. We know how it has failed. We are moving from a socialist society to a disastrous capitalist society."
Social activist, Medha Patkar is also travelling to Delhi along with the farmers. Approximately five hundred farmer unions and around five lakh people are expected to gather in Delhi on 26 November 2020.
The Union government on September 27 this year, passed the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020. The acts received severe criticism from the farming communities. One of BJP's old ally, Shiromani Akali Dal's Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from her cabinet post as food processing minister. Nationwide protests were held to pressurize the government to reconsider the legislations.