Rahul Gandhi will lead a Congress delegation to President Ram Nath Kovind on December 24 to seek his intervention in the impasse over the new farm laws as lakhs of farmers are camping on roads amid the harsh winter for 27 days.

Although the President hasn’t made any intervention despite requests by an Opposition delegation a few days ago, this time Rahul will submit to Kovind signatures of over two crore people in support of the demand to scrap the three new laws. The Congress had been collecting these signatures across the country for the past two months.

This will be part of a sustained Congress campaign to extend support to the farmers’ movement. The signatures have been collected from farmers, agriculture workers and other stakeholders from different states. The Congress leadership has also been contemplating separate political action in support of the farmers, who have so far shown aversion to any political party joining their movement.

The Congress on Tuesday issued a statement expressing anguish over the government apathy. The statement, issued by general secretary in-charge of organisation K.C. Venugopal, said: “Lakhs of farmers have been on protest in freezing weather against the three blatantly anti-agriculture laws aimed at bartering their interests in the hands of select crony capitalist friends of the Modi government. They have been blocked from entering the national capital of Delhi for the last 27 days despite prior notice and peaceful intent.”

Arguing that the laws had caused “immense pain and anguish among the farmers across India”, the statement said: “The farmers have been sitting on an indefinite strike against these laws. Forty-four farmers have already lost their lives during the ongoing protests. Led by Rahul Gandhi, the Congress along with other political parties had vehemently opposed the bills inside and outside Parliament. Rahul undertook an extensive ‘Tractor Yatra’ across Punjab and Haryana as also in different states.”