Farm bills: Youth Cong members detained during protest march towards Parliament

During the protest march, Indian Youth Congress president Srinivas BV said these bills will make farmers dependent on corporate houses and were also against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's idea of an Atmanirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India. "The Prime Minister talks about Atmnirbhar Bharat, but the farm bills of his government will make the farmers dependent on corporate houses of Ambanis and Adanis," he said.

Some youth Congress members were detained by the police on Tuesday when they were trying to march towards Parliament House in protest against the recently passed farm bills. During the protest march, Indian Youth Congress president Srinivas BV said these bills will make farmers dependent on corporate houses and were also against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's idea of an Atmanirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India.

"The Prime Minister talks about Atmnirbhar Bharat, but the farm bills of his government will make the farmers dependent on corporate houses of Ambanis and Adanis," he said. A senior police officer said 77 protesters were detained but released later on.

The protest march started from the IYC headquarters on Raisina Road and was stopped near Shastri Bhawan on RP Road, IYC media in-charge Rahul Rao said. Srinivas and other IYC leaders were detained by the police when they tried to get past a barricade, Rao said, adding that they were taken to the Mandir Marg police station.

During the march, the protesters also burnt effigies of the Prime Minister, the IYC said in a statement. The Indian Youth Congress is already running a 'Rozgar Do' campaign against the Central government for rising unemployment among the youth, it said. Krishna Allavaru, in-charge of the Youth Congress who was also present in the march, said, "The way the BJP government is ignoring the voices of the people of this country and more particularly the voices of the farmers and the youth, it is evidently against them." Many IYC members and office bearers including in-charges from Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat units also participated in the protest.

Some IYC activists were seen frying 'pakoras' to protest against unemployment, in a dig at Modi's past comments that selling 'pakoras' is a kind of employment. The Rajya Sabha on Sunday passed the Farmers' and Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, amid a vociferous protest by Opposition parties.