The fast is also the farmers' way of reasserting the 'peaceful' nature of their protest against the three farm laws passed in September.
More than two months to the farmers' protest, and with an uneventful tractor rally turning violent on Republic Day, the agitation farmers on Saturday are observed 'Sadbhavna Diwas' on Mahatma Gandhi's 73rd death anniversary, with a day-long fast.
The fast is also the farmers' way of reasserting the 'peaceful' nature of their protest against the three farm laws passed in September and which is joined by participants from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and other states. Addressing a press conference at Delhi's Singhu border, the farmer leaders said the fast will be held from 9 AM to 5 PM and appealed to the people of the country to join them.
The farmer protests have been marred with multiple instances of violence over the past many days, which the farmers assert were a result of the government's moves to misrepresent the entire agitation and break it up eventually. However, they claimed that the protest has only gained strength now, with many more farmers reaching out in support and physically joining them at the many protest venues around Delhi.
Addressing a press conference at the Delhi-Haryana border point in Singhu on Friday, the leaders slammed the ruling party of trying to 'destroy' the 'peaceful' agitation.
"The way the government has unsuccessfully tried to spoil the atmosphere on the Ghazipur border and the Singhu border for the past three days proves that the police and BJP-RSS are desperately plotting to kill this movement. Similar unsuccessful attempts were made on the Tikri border too," a statement issued by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha has said.
Farmer leaders say that the number of participants at the prominent protest venues - Ghazipur, Singhu, and Tikri - was swelling following the police's alleged high-handedness on Thursday night.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) supporters stayed put on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway on Friday as the crowd swelled there, notwithstanding the Ghaziabad administration's ultimatum to vacate the UP Gate protest site where security force in large numbers was re-deployed.
A confrontation was building up at the UP Gate in Ghazipur even as frequent power cuts were witnessed on Thursday evening at the protest site, where BKU members, led by Rakesh Tikait, are staying put since November 28 last year.
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