Tamil Nadu farmers lend support to Singhu protesters, say ready to join agitation

The leaders said that hundreds of farmers from the south Indian state have planned to drive to Delhi in tractors by next week, educating people about the lapses and harms of the new farm bill on their way to join the movement in Delhi.

A delegation of Tamil Nadu Farmers Protection Association said on Tuesday that hundreds of farmers from Tamil Nadu were ready to join the protest at Delhi’s borders if the government did not roll back the three farm laws.

Farmers from Tamil Nadu join the ongoing 'Delhi Chalo' agitation against the new farm laws, at Singhu border in New Delhi.(PTI)

The leaders said that hundreds of farmers from the south Indian state have planned to drive to Delhi in tractors by next week, educating people about the lapses and harms of the new farm bill on their way to join the movement in Delhi.

The 12-member delegation from Coimbatore that had come to visit the farmer groups who have been camping at Singhu border since November 27, said the farmers’ demands are legitimate and the central government cannot turn a deaf ear towards them.

Nalla Gounder, coordinator of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Protection Association, said there were protests against the bill in Tamil Nadu also in small groups.

“Since the protest in Delhi by our farmer brothers from Haryana and Punjab is growing stronger, we want to add to the number and boost their morale. I am myself a farmer and we are well aware of the harms of the new bill. We support the demand for it to be repealed. If the government continues to act deaf towards our demands, hundreds of farmers from Tamil Nadu are ready to fuel the ongoing protest,” Gounder said.

The coordinator said 200 farmers had booked train tickets to come to Delhi but they were stopped by the state government. “12 of us have come today by air and we ensure more our men will join in days to come,” he said.

Easan, another farmer leader who had come to Delhi from Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, said at least 100 tractors are ready to start moving towards Delhi by next week. “On our way to the Capital by road we will spread awareness about the farm laws. Each tractor will have at least 10-12 farmers,” Easan said.

Welcoming the support, Harinder Singh Lakhowal, general secretary, Bharita Kisan Union, Ludhiana said they were delighted to see farmers from other states coming out in support. “A major protest against the bill was also organized today in Maharashtra. They even contacted us and assured us of their physical presence if need be. We are delighted to have witnessed such a massive response to our movement that will benefit farmers in the India regardless of which state they come from,” Lakhowal said.

The farmers’ agitation overall remained peaceful on Tuesday as it entered its 27th day. The farmers at the Singhu border spent their day mostly delivering speeches from the central stage, raising anti-farm law slogans, singing songs, raising banners, cooking and distributing langars.

Senior police officers also said that their deployment at the border remained as usual. “The protest remained peaceful on Tuesday with no untoward incident reported from any part of the Delhi’s borders where the farmers have been camping since last month. We maintained our deployment of the security personnel and the situation is being closely monitored,” said a senior police officer from Singhu border.