Indian farmers seek meeting with Prime Minister Modi

Farmers protesting in New Delhi in India are seeking a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the opportunity to hold a peaceful demonstration in the capital, said one of the protest leaders, Sarwan Singh Pandher, Report informs via TASS.

"This is not about moving forward, that we will break the barricades. There will be a meeting with ministers today, and we would like the prime minister to talk to us personally," he said. "Secondly, since this is a democratic country, we should be allowed to enter Delhi peacefully. The government should allow us," the farmers' spokesperson added.

On February 15, protesters intend to block railway traffic in the state of Punjab for four hours.

Farmers in the central Indian states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have launched a protest demanding the government pass a law that will provide them with minimum support price guarantees for future harvests. In addition, they demand that pensions be paid to farmers and that farms be freed from debt. Indian farmers also want India to withdraw from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and freeze all free trade agreements.

The protest continues for the third day. On February 13, security forces prevented protesters from driving tractors into New Delhi. The march was stopped at the border of the Indian states of Haryana and Punjab, more than 200 km from the Indian capital. The police used water cannons and tear gas against the protesters who were destroying barriers and infrastructure installed on the roads.