On the ocassion of 'Holika Dahan' a ritual observed a day before the festival of Holi, farmers camping on the outskirts of Delhi and in Punjab burnt copies of the centre's new farm laws amid the ongoing protests. In India, a day before Holi, bonfires are lit in evening symbolising the victory of good over evil.
As per a NDTV report, the protesting farmers celebrated Holi at the borders of the capital and maintained that their agitation will continue till the farm laws are repealed and a separate law on minimum support price is enacted, the famers' umbrella body Samyukta Kisan Morcha said in a statement.
Besides, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha will also observe "FCI Bachao Diwas" on April 5, adding that offices of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will be picketed from 11 am to 5 pm across the country.
"The government has made several attempts to end the minimum support price (MSP) and public distribution system (PDS) indirectly. The FCI's budget has also been reduced over the last few years. Recently, the FCI also changed the rules for procurement of crops," the statement said.
Following the ritual, farmers in Punjab too burnt copies of the three contentious central farm laws at many places in on Sunday to mark Holika Dahan.
"The protesting farmers set the copies of three farm legislations on fire at 42 places in 16 districts of the state," said Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrhana) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan.
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur border of Delhi with their main demand of complete repeal of the three farm laws and a legal guarantee for the minimum support price on their crops.
So far, there have been 11 rounds of talks between the protesting unions and government, but all seems in vain has continued as both sides have stuck to their stand.
