Rahul Gandhi to Meet Farmer Leaders Amid Fresh Protest Plans

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will meet seven farmer leaders on Wednesday to discuss bringing a private member bill for their demands. Meanwhile, farmer groups plan nationwide protests, including effigy burning, a long march, and rallies in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to push for MSP guarantees and other issues.

Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, is scheduled to meet a delegation of seven farmer leaders on Wednesday at around 11 am in the Parliament, sources revealed.

In the meeting, the farmer leaders are expected to urge Gandhi to introduce a private member bill addressing their long-standing demands. Concurrently, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha announced plans on Monday to burn effigies of the Modi government nationwide and initiate new protests demanding legalisation of the MSP guarantee.

The planned protests include staging a 'long march' in support of private bills by the opposition. The announcement was made during a press conference in Delhi. On August 15, Independence Day, protestors will conduct a tractor rally nationwide and burn copies of new criminal laws. Marking the 'Delhi Chalo' march's 200th day on August 31, they called on people to gather at Punjab and Haryana borders.

Further, both the organizations announced massive rallies in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh on September 1, Jind, Haryana on September 15, 2024, and Pipli on September 22, 2024. Earlier in February, Haryana set up barricades on the Ambala-New Delhi highway to thwart farmers' attempts to march to Delhi pressing for a legal MSP guarantee, which led to a prolonged standoff at Haryana borders.

(With inputs from agencies.)