Farmers hold ‘parliament’ session at Jantar Mantar

Another sort of parliament is holding its session at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Barely two kilometres away from the Parliament House, where the Monsoon Session is going on, a group of 200 farmers have started a ‘Kisan Sansad’ at this protest site.

On July 21, the Delhi government and the police agreed to allow farmers to hold the Kisan Sansad at this venue from July 22 to August 9 between 11 am and 5 pm. Only 200 farmers have been allowed in a day and they have been issued identity cards. The protest is against the Centre's three contentious farm laws.

Speaking at the venue, Rakesh Tikait, the spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) said this was the “world’s first farmers’ parliament.” He said that their message was that this “parliament” was “cancelling” what he called the “three black laws” that had been passed by the Parliament of India.

Tikait alleged that the government’s intention was to destroy the mandis. Using an analogy from the world of railways, he said that mandis served as platforms for farm produce. Running trains without platforms would lead to chaos. “If we stop trains without platforms, there will be chain-pulling” and subsequent legal cases, he said.

Farmer leader Yogendra Yadav said that this “parliament” would discuss the farmers’ issues — something that was being discussed in parliaments across the world — England, New Zealand and Canada — but not in India. “The government says time and again that it does not know what the farmers are objecting to. Today, we will tell them what our objections are.”

The Delhi Police said that the first day of the farmers' protest had gone peaceful. In view of the Independence Day and the Parliament session, they have made the necessary security arrangements.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar urged the farmers to leave the path of agitation and come for talks. He said farmers across the country had favoured the three farm laws.