Some 130,000 farmers and farm workers protested Sunday in the state of Punjab, according to police estimates.
It is the latest show of strength against the new agricultural laws, which has sparked protests across the country for months.
It was one of the biggest demonstrations to date.
Tens of thousands of Indian producers have already camped outside Delhi. Opponents of the law say it harms farmers to the benefit of large corporations.
This farmer at the protest says he wants the laws repealed and that “people should be able to buy food”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which introduced the laws last September, offered to postpone the laws but refused to abandon them.
He argues that the legislation will help farmers get better prices.
Both sides met in several rounds of negotiations, but failed to make any progress
Farmers’ unions have pledged to continue the protests until the laws are repealed.
At Sunday’s rally at a grain market in Barnala, a city in Punjab, union leaders outlined plans to mobilize farmers across the state and move to a protest site outside Delhi later this month.
Video transcription
– Some 130,000 farmers and farm workers protested Sunday in the state of Punjab, according to police estimates. It is the latest show of strength against the new agricultural laws, which has sparked protests across the country for months. It was one of the biggest demonstrations to date. Tens of thousands of Indian producers have already camped outside Delhi.
Opponents of the law say it harms farmers to the benefit of large corporations. This farmer at the protest says he wants the laws to be repealed and that, in quotation marks, “people should be able to buy food”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which introduced the laws last September, offered to postpone the laws but refused to abandon them. He argues that the legislation will help farmers get better prices.
Both sides met in several rounds of negotiations, but failed to make any progress. Farmers’ unions have pledged to continue the protests until the laws are repealed. At Sunday’s rally at a grain market in Barnala, a city in Punjab, union leaders outlined plans to mobilize farmers across the state and move to a protest site outside Delhi later this month.