'Centre taking away rights of poor', says Rahul Gandhi as farmers protest intensifies

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre for the ongoing farmers agitation in Delhi.

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday (December 10, 2020) slammed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre for the ongoing farmers agitation in Delhi.

He accused the Centre of taking away the fundamental rights of the "poor" and called it a crime against humanity. Further, Gandhi said that for a better future we have to respect the rights of every class.

Taking to Twitter, Gandhi wrote in Hindi which roughly translates to: "Modi govt is taking away the fundamental rights of the poor. It is a crime against humanity. For a better future of the country, we have to respect the rights of every class."

Meanwhile on Wednesday, a delegation of opposition parties including Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar met President Ram Nath Kovind seeking repeal of the three farm laws.

Along with Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar, other members of the delegation included CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D Raja and DMK leader TKS Elangovan.

After meeting the President, Rahul Gandhi told reporters, "We met the President and informed him of our view regarding the three farm laws. We have asked for their repeal," adding "We informed the President that it is critical that they are taken back." 

Notably, the farmer leaders' union on Wednesday rejected the government's proposal to amend the three contentious farm laws, and announced that they will intensify the stir and blocking the remaining highways leading to the national capital by Saturday.

According to the union leaders, a new ‘Delhi Chalo' call is being given to all farmers in north India for December 14, while those in the south will be asked to protest at district headquarters. They said all toll plazas across the country will be made toll-free on December 12.

The farmers have been staging a demonstrating for neary a fortnight over reforms enacted in September that loosened rules around the sale, pricing and storage of farm produce that had protected farmers from an unfettered free market for decades.