Chandigarh: In a slight change in his programme, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will now hold tractor rallies in Punjab and Haryana. The rallies will be conducted October 4-6 to protest against the contentious new farm laws. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to hold tractor rallies from October 3-5, the party had said. However, the rest of his itinerary will remain the same.
“Change in @Rahul Gandhi tractor rallies programme; rescheduled to October 4, 5, 6. Rest (itinerary) remains the same,” Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s media advisor, Raveen Thukral, tweeted.
Singh will join the protests. Punjab Congress unit president Sunil Jakhar, and the party’s Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat will also attend the rallies. All Congress MLAs in Punjab are also expected to participate. The rallies are being organised ‘to give voice to the angst and pain of the farmers’. The livelihood and future of the farmers has been put at stake by the central legislations.
A spokesperson of Punjab Congress had said Thursday that the tractor rallies will cover more than 50 km over three days. The rallies are scheduled to begin around 11.00am on each of the three days. They will be conducted amid strict COVID-19 protocols, the spokesperson had said.
Rahul is likely to address rallies at Kaithal and Pipli in Kurukshetra district of Haryana October 6 instead of October 5. After that he will return to Delhi.
Farmers have expressed apprehension that the Centre’s farm reforms would pave a way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system. It will leave them at the ‘mercy’ of big companies.
Parliament had last week passed the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020; the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill; and the Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill.