Ahead of their proposed tractor parade on Republic Day, protesting farmer unions announced on Monday that they would march towards Parliament from different locations on February 1 when the annual Union Budget is scheduled to be presented.
Darshan Pal of the Krantikari Kisan Union said the protesting farmers remain firm in their stand of repealing the three new farm laws and their agitation will continue till their demands are met.
"We will march towards Parliament on foot from different locations on the budget day on February 1. As far as tomorrow's tractor rally is concerned, it will give the government an idea of our strength and they will know the agitation is not just limited to Haryana or Punjab but it is an agitation of the whole of the country," he said.
Every march or protest will be peaceful as the movement has been so far, he said.
"The farmers who have come for the tractor parade will not go back now and will join the protest. The agitation will continue till our demands are met. Our stand remains the same," Pal told a press conference, sharing the farmers' plans to intensify the protest.
Thousands of armed personnel have been deployed at the Rajpath and several border points of the national capital which has been brought under a multi-layered security cover in view of Republic Day celebrations as well as the proposed tractor parade by farmers on Tuesday.
Protesting farmer unions opposing the three contentious farm laws said their parade will not enter central Delhi and it will start only after the official Republic Day parade concludes.
The unions claimed that around two lakh tractors are expected to participate in their parade which will move into the city from three border points --- Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur (UP Gate).
Hundreds of women to drive tractors
In a show of strength, hundreds of women are expected to drive tractors at 'Kisan Gantantra Parade' on Republic Day.
Social activist Zeba Khan said women will be participating in the tractor rally shoulder to shoulder with their fellow male farmers. Khan, who is among the women participating in the rally, claimed that at least 500 women will be in attendance on Tuesday.
"Women's contribution was invaluable during India's freedom struggle. On Tuesday also, we will be there to make our contribution to this movement," she said.
The activist, who hails from a family of farmers in Jharkhand, added that the rally was a crucial moment in their agitation which was "no less than a freedom struggle".
"The three farm laws are similar to the pre-Independence shackles of slavery. Through this agitation, we are making our presence noticed, and exercising our right to enter Delhi," she said.
2 lakh tractors will join rally
The unions have claimed that around two lakh tractors will be there in the parade which will move into the city from three border points --- Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur (UP Gate).
Several rural women in Haryana's Jind district have reportedly been receiving training for the past one month to drive tractors to be able to participate in the tractor rally.
Thousands of farmers from different states have been protesting against the farm laws at various Delhi borders for nearly two months now.
A spokesperson of Jai Kisan Andolan (Swaraj Abhiyaan) said the farmers tractor rally is expected to start at around 11:30 am on Tuesday and set to continue for 10-12 hours.
"Fifty per cent women in Punjab and Haryana know how to drive tractors. Our wives, mothers and sisters are like 'Jhansi ki Rani'," Ram Singh Rangreta, state secretary of Sangharsh Morcha, Ambedkar, said.
Gurmeet Singh, a protesting farmer from Patiala, said women's participation was key to the success of the agitation.
