MP: Cong protests over farm laws, cops use tear gas, water cannons

Police used tear gas shells andwater cannons as Congress leaders and workers in MadhyaPradesh marched towards the Raj Bhavan here in a bid to gheraoit over the demand for withdrawal of three new central farmlaws, a senior official said.

Hundreds of Congress workers, led by the party's stateunit chief Kamal Nath, marched towards the Raj Bhavan.

''Police had to use tear gas shells, water cannonsand lathis to disperse the party workers who were marchingtowards the Governor's residence,'' the police official said.

Police used mild force to discipline protestersafter they turned unruly, he added.

Bhopal deputy inspector general of police Irshad Walisaid the situation was under control now.

A Congress leader said the protest was aimed atdrawing the government's attention towards the demand forrepeal of the three controversial agriculture laws.

Enacted in September last year, the three laws havebeen projected by the Centre as major reforms in theagriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allowfarmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana andwestern Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at several borderpoints of Delhi since November 28 last year, demanding arepeal of the three farm laws.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)