Maharashtra Farmers Call Off Protest: Will Government Meet Its Promises?
It was quite a sight. For over 180 km, for six days, nearly 50,000 farmers marched slowly and peacefully towards Mumbai, demanding justice, demanding that the government keep the promises it has made to them, giving them their basic rights. As the protesting farmers entered Mumbai over the weekend, they did something else - they decided to march to the Azad Maidan overnight so that students appearing for exams don't get disturbed this morning. And they sat there, waving flags, quietly making their point demanding the right to own the land they till, the right to get good money for their crops as promised and the right to get loan waivers - a major unfulfilled promise of the state government. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has agreed to many of those demands, but will he keep those promises? Is rural distress going to be the one big issue that defines the 2019 general election?
