Congress stages nationwide protest on farm laws; leaders and workers detained by police

Congress, one of the main opposition parties opposing the farm reform bills, has called for all India protest against the farm laws on Monday. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is set to observe a sit-in protest against the three farm laws at Khatkar Kalan in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar. Also, protestors set a tractor ablaze near India Gate in Delhi on Monday morning during protests against the farm reform laws.

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) had tried to organise a protest at Rajghat, which was not allowed by the authorities. Congress workers gathered to raise anti-government slogans but were detained by the Delhi Police. Congress leader Udit Raj who had joined the protest was also detained by the police. They had planned to march till Raj Niwas to mark their protest against the recently passed farm bills that have become laws now after President's ascension.

There were attempts of protests in other parts of the country. In the morning, Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda, Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani, Congress MLAs Baldevji Thakor, C J Chavda and other party workers gathered at the Ambedkar statue near the Assembly complex and raised slogans against the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Gujarat to protest against farm laws. Nearly 100 Congress workers, including Chavda, were detained in Gandhinagar as they staged a protest.

In Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow, Congress workers staged a protest in Parivartan Chowk against farm bills but were detained by Police officials. UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu was also detained over the protest.

READ | Congress Hits Out At Karnataka CM Yediyurappa After Farm Bills Protest 'bandh' Fails

Opposition vs Centre over farm reforms laws

President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave assent gave his assent to all three Farm Bills passed by the Parliament last week. Protest against the three laws continued on Sunday, with protestors in Punjab sitting on the Amritsar-Delhi railway track. 

While the Congress has maintained that the new laws will lead to the removal of minimum support price (MSP) mechanism leaving farmers at the mercy of corporates and big companies, the Centre including Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on multiple occasions has countered opposition's allegations by elaborating that the new laws will not have any impact the MSP mechanism.

The previous agriculture laws bounded the farmers to sell their produce in government-regulated Mandis which saw a high level of corruption at the hands of Mandi regulators and middlemen. The Centre asserted that the new laws have freed the farmers from depending on Mandis and middlemen as farmers will now be able to sell their produce directly. However, the farmers still have the option to sell their produce in Mandis too if they wish to.