Maharashtra: Cong to participate in January 25 'long march'

The Congress, which is one of theconstituents in the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)government in Maharashtra, will participate in the ''longmarch'' planned by farmer organisations in Mumbai on January 25against the three new agri laws of the Centre, a party leadersaid on Wednesday.

Former Congress minister Naseem Khan saidin astatement that the party will support the upcoming four-dayagitation organised by the the Akhil BharatiyaKisanSabha(AIKS), farmers' bodies and NGOs against the ''black agrilaws,'' beginning from January 23 in the Maharashtra capital.

He said Congress leaders, including Maharashtra unitpresident Balasaheb Thorat, will join the long march onJanuary 25, which will be taken out from Azad Maidan in southMumbai to Raj Bhavan.

Khan alleged the Narendra Modi government wanted to''uproot'' farmers by ''enslaving them to capitalists throughthese three laws.

He said the Congress party has been opposing theselaws from the very beginning.

''These oppressive laws of the Central government willnot be implemented in Maharashtra by the MVA government,'' hesaid.

The NCP, the second key constituent in the MVAgovernment, on Tuesday announced Maharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray and NCP president Sharad Pawar will take partin the upcoming protests in Mumbai.

Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana andwestern Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various border pointsof Delhi for over a month now against the three laws.

Farmer groups have alleged these laws will end themandi and MSP procurement systems and leave the farmers at themercy of big corporates, even as the government has rejectedthese apprehensions as misplaced.

On January 11, the Supreme Court had stayed theimplementation of the three laws till further orders andappointed a four-member panel to resolve the impasse.