Farmers Plan 100-km Republic Day Tractor Parade, Claim Delhi Police Nod

Farmers protesting the central government's new agricultural laws said on Saturday that they will hold a 100-km tractor rally in the national capital on Republic Day after getting a go-ahead from the Delhi Police that set aside the initial resistance from authorities for the demonstration. The police, however, appeared to contradict the claim soon after.

"Farmers have not given us any route in writing. We will let you know once we receive a route in written," Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava told NDTV.

Earlier, after attending a meeting between the unions and the police, farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said the tractor parades will start from the Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri border points of Delhi, and details will be finalised later in the day.

Farmer leader Darshan Pal said that barricades set up at Delhi border points, will be removed on January 26 and farmers will take out tractor rallies after entering the national capital.

The announcement came a day after farmers rejected an offer by the government to defer the three reforms for one-and-half years, warning they would step up protests as they seek a repeal of the laws and a guarantee on minimum crop prices.

Farm leaders had said hundreds of thousands of farmers from neighbouring states including Haryana, Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh plan to drive tractors through New Delhi on January 26, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join a parade of the armed forces.

While some former government officials had expressed concern that the protests could turn violent, the leaders said they would remain peaceful and urged the police to grant permission for the convoy to enter the capital.

The 11th round of talks between government officials led by Agricultural minister Narendra Singh Tomar and forty farm leaders earlier on Friday was inconclusive. Farmers stuck to their demands while the government urged them to consider its offer to hold discussions to address their concerns after deferring the laws.

"There is a sort of deadlock as the government repeated the offer of deferring the laws, which is not acceptable," Darshan Pal, one of the farm leaders told reporters after the meeting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has said that the laws introduced in September will unshackle farmers from the obligation of selling produce only at regulated wholesale markets. But the farmers say the bills are designed to benefit private buyers.

Hundreds of thousands of farmers have been camping on the outskirts of national capital for nearly two months, blocking some of the roads connecting New Delhi with neighbouring states.

Supporting the farmers, the main opposition Congress party said on Friday that the government had shown "shocking insensitivity and arrogance" towards farmers and urged it to accept their demands.