Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury met President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday and sought withdrawal of the recently-enacted farm laws.
Former Congress chief Gandhi said he told the President the laws were “anti-farmer” as they would make them suffer huge losses. He also claimed the Opposition stands with the farmers who have been camping at Delhi’s borders for over a month now demanding repeal of the legislations.
“I want to tell the Prime Minister that these farmers are not going to go back home until the laws are repealed. The government should convene a joint session of Parliament and take back the laws. We took crores of signatures… the voices of farmers. The PM will have to listen to them. The entire country is watching. It is cold, and the farmers are suffering, dying. I am warning you. Nobody can stand against the farmers,” Rahul Gandhi told reporters after meeting.
Earlier, he had attempted to lead a delegation of Congress leaders to the Rashtrapati Bhavan but was stopped by the Delhi Police. Congress leaders including general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and K C Venugopal, and senior leader Randeep Singh Surjewala, were detained.
“We areliving in a democracy and they are elected MPs. They have the right to meet the President and they should be allowed. The government is not ready to listen to voices of lakhs of farmers camping at borders,” Congress general secretary said Priyanka Gandhi after being stopped by police.
The ‘Delhi Chalo’ farmers’ protest against the new farm reform at border points of New Delhi has entered the 29th day today.
