Mumbai farmers' rally: Sanjay Raut cautions protesters against COVID-19

Sanjay Raut. File Pic

The COVID-19 threat is still not over in Mumbai and proper care should be taken accordingly during farmers' protest here or else a new crisis will be there in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said on Monday.

As the farmers' protest against the Centre's farm laws continues near the Delhi borders, Raut alleged that "some invisible force" does not want peasants to get justice.

Talking to reporters here, he also said that an "atmosphere of instability" prevails in the country.

Thousands of farmers from across Maharashtra have reached Mumbai to participate in a rally here on Monday against the Centre's three new farm laws and to express solidarity with the farmers agitating near Delhi.

"I saw yesterday farmers from different places in Maharashtra reached Mumbai. Will need to take care. The COVID-19 threat is still not over in Mumbai," Raut said.

"It will be better if care is taken in that case. Or else, a new crisis will spread in Maharashtra is what the chief minister is worried about," the Rajya Sabha member said.

He noted that the farmers' protest near the national capital has been continuing despite several rounds of discussions between peasants and the Centre.

"It seems some invisible force does not want farmers to get justice, an atmosphere of instability prevails in the country and it (the invisible force) seeks political mileage out of the same. It will not be in the interest of the country," the Shiv Sena's chief spokesperson said.

Enacted in September last year, the three laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

However, the protesting farmers have expressed their apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of MSP and do away with the 'mandi' (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at several border points of Delhi, demanding a repeal of the three farm laws.

Multiple rounds of talks between the government and farmer unions have failed to break the impasse so far, while the Supreme Court has appointed a panel for resolution of the issue.

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