Farmers' march to parliament: The date for the event will be announced in the coming days (File)
Thousands of farmers, who have been protesting against the central government's three agriculture laws near Delhi borders for over four months, will march to parliament in the first half of May, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha - an umbrella body of 40 farmers' unions that has been leading the agitation - announced on Wednesday.
"SKM has announced a parliament march in the first fortnight of May. Other than farmers and labourers, women, Dalit-Adivasi-Bahujans, unemployed youth and every section of the society will be part of this march. This program will be completely peaceful," it said in a statement.
The body said protesters will come to the three main protests sites - Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur - in their vehicles to participate in the "paidal" (on foot) march to parliament. The date for the event will be announced in the coming days, it added.
The farmers' unions will intensify their agitation against the laws from April 1. They said they will block the KMP expressway for 24 hours on April 10.
The march to parliament had originally been scheduled on February 1, the Budget Day. However, it was cancelled in the wake of violence during the farmers' Republic Day tractor march.
Hundreds of police personnel had been injured on the Republic Day, when thousands of farmers on tractors had veered off the permitted routes and barged into the national capital, breaching barriers set up by the authorities.
The farmers' unions had claimed that the violence was part of a government conspiracy to malign their largely peaceful protests.
Farmers fear that with help from the new laws, large corporate houses will edge out traditional crop markets, which will result in their exploitation. They also allege that the centre wants to scrap the minimum support price system.
The centre claims the laws are aimed at eliminating the role of middlemen by providing more avenues to farmers to sell their crops. They have assured the protesters that the MSP system will not be scrapped.
Several rounds of talks between the centre and farmers have failed to break the deadlock.