On Monday, Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, is set to visit the agitating farmers at the Singhu border of the Indian capital to check the arrangements put in place for the protesters. These farmers have marched to Delhi from several Indian agricultural states including Punab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Farmers have decided to occupy toll plazas around Delhi and across the country if the laws are not pulled back by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, that has advocated the new legislation as “progressive” and in favour of the farmers.
Meanwhile, visuals of severely jammed traffic blocking Delhi roads amid the protests have surfaced on social media.
Videos of Indians living in other countries including the UK, the US, Canada and Australia, who have come out in support of the farmers have also emerged on Twitter as the movement seems to be gathering a momentum globally.
The three laws that sparked the controversy are -- The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020.
The farmers fear that with these new laws, the BJP government is backing out from its role as a price guarantor for their produce while leaving their earnings to be influenced by market forces.