Yet another 'mahapanchayat' as farmers vow to continue protest at UP borders

Farmer leaders vowed to continue their protest against the farm laws at yet another 'mahapanchayat', which was held in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district, about 450 kilometres from here, on Sunday.

Earlier a 'Kisan mahapanchayat' was held at Muzaffarnagar, which also decided to continue the dharna and gave a call to the farmers to reach the Ghazipur border in large numbers.

Sunday's 'mahapanchayat' was also attended by a large number of farmers from Baghpat and nearby districts and leaders from the opposition parties.

Read | Farmers dance to folk tunes at night as cops put up barbed wires, barricades at Ghazipur border

Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rajendra Chaudhary slammed the administration for trying to remove the agitating farmers by force and said that the dharna at the Ghazipur border would not be called under any circumstances.

Earlier the district police had forcefully evicted the farmers, who were protesting against the farm laws and had embarked on a dharna at the Saharanpur-Delhi highway in Baghpat.

The speakers urged the farmers not to take the law into their hands and protest in a peaceful manner. They also termed the violence during the tractor rally in Delhi on the Republic Day a 'conspiracy' to defame the farmers and 'divide' their leaders.

Read | More and more farmers heading towards Delhi borders from Punjab

Though the police had not given permission to hold the 'mahapanchayat', the farmers riding their tractors started arriving at the venue since morning.

One farmer was killed, when his tractor overturned, and several others, including the cops, were injured in the violence during the tractor rally on the Republic Day.