The protest paved the way for two political leaders -- Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal -- to come together on the same stage for the first time, along with representatives of like-minded parties such as the Nationalist Congress Party, National Conference and Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Mr Gandhi, in his address, said India currently faces two challenges: the bleak future of its farmers and unemployment of its youth. "The farmers seek what they are owed from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but all they get are empty speeches," he added. Mr Kejriwal, for his part, termed the centre's flagship insurance scheme for farmers as just another ploy to fleece them.
Speaking at the rally, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury alleged that agricultural growth rate has plummeted under the Narendra Modi government, and termed the Prime Minister as a "pocket-maar who takes all your money and gives back a little as a sop". "Like the Kauravas, there are just two memorable names in the arrogant BJP -- Narendra Modi and Amit Shah," he said, adding that ruling party leaders invoke the Ram Mandir every five years in an attempt to divide the people along religious lines.
Mr Kejriwal, on the other hand, wondered why the centre was treating farmers in such a step-motherly fashion. "Your Bima Yojana for farmers is a fraud. Thousands of crores are taken from farmers' accounts, but when the crops are destroyed, conditions are cited. This is not a Bima Yojana, this is the BJP's daka yojana (dacoit scheme)," he claimed.
Representatives of 21 political parties, including opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Sitaram Yechury, Farooq Abdullah and Sharad Yadav, stood together on the stage at the massive gathering. However, BJP leader Sambit Patra scoffed at the movement. "Having Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal on the same stage only means having drama and confusion on the same stage. Uniting won't help these individuals who have lost the people's support," he said.
Nearly 35,000 marching farmers were stopped near the Parliament Street Police station. Farmer leaders addressed the protesters there after they were not allowed by the police to proceed further.
Farmers from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh reached Delhi on Thursday and spent the night at Ramlila Ground.
A group of women from Telangana, whose farmer husbands committed suicide, hung pictures of their men around the neck as they marched on the streets of Delhi.
Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India led a 26-km protest rally from Bijwasan to Ramlila Maidan on Thursday. Farmers from Odisha, Haryana and Rajasthan joined him. "We are protesting loot and exploitation of farmers. The entire country is with us. Journalists, doctors, students, artists have pledged their support," he said.
The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee or AIKSCC, the umbrella body for farmers' groups, demanded a special session of parliament to pass bills seeking a loan waiver and better prices for crops. It has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join the protest march. Today's rally is the fourth major farmers rally led by the organisation in the last year and a half, which represents over 200 groups.
"My wife and children have told me that I should fight and stay even for a week in Delhi, if needed," said Kartar Singh, a sugarcane farmer from Uttar Pradesh. He was among the thousands of farmers who braved the chilly night at Ramlila Ground.
Veteran journalist P Sainath who spent time with the farmers last night pointed out to what he called a larger agrarian crisis. "What you are witnessing in the country is bigger than a drought. The farm suicide data has not been published in the last two years. The figures stopped at 2015," he told reporters.(Agencies)
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