New Delhi
Indian farmers filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking the quashing of three new laws on agricultural reform which they say will drive down crop prices, as they continued their two-week blockade of highways connecting to the Indian capital.
The Supreme Court is expected to take up the petition after seeking the government’s response. No date was set for a hearing. The petition was filed by the Bharatiya Kisan Union, or Indian Farmers Union, and its leader, Bhanu Pratap Singh, who argued that the laws were arbitrary because the government enacted them without proper consultations with stakeholders.
Five round of talks between the government and farmers since November have failed to halt the blockade, with the protesters continuing to insist that the laws be repealed.
The protest leaders announced that farmers will block more highways on Saturday and organise a nationwide shutdown of businesses next Monday unless their demands are met.—AFP
