Farmers' protest shakes Nagpur; HC warns against traffic blockade

Thousands of farmers, led by Prahar Janshakti Party chief Bacchu Kadu, launched a massive agitation in Nagpur on Wednesday (October 29), demanding immediate loan waivers, minimum support price (MSP) assurance, and drought relief for cultivators across Maharashtra.

Bacchu Kadu, a former Maharashtra minister, led a massive tractor procession, creating a major traffic jam on the outskirts of Nagpur. Farmer leader and former MP Raju Shetti also took part in the protest. The protest, which began early in the morning, disrupted traffic across multiple areas as farmers squatted on arterial roads, waving green flags and raising slogans against the state government’s “failure to address farmer distress”.

Reports said the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway and NH-44, one of India's busiest highways, were affected.

High Court warns protestors

Earlier, the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court took suo motu notice of the traffic jam and directed Kadu and his supporters to move off the highway and other roads by 6 pm. The court said the right of the protesters cannot be ignored, but the fact remains that a public road, more particularly a National Highway, is blocked by the protestors, which certainly violates the fundamental right of citizens to move freely throughout the territory of India.

"Role of judiciary in such situation is required to be of a proactive nature, it being protector of fundamental rights guaranteed under our Constitution," the court said.

Kadu said they would not commit contempt of the HC order, but the administration should arrange a place for them in jail.

Fadnavis makes an appeal

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had on Wednesday morning appealed Kadu to discuss farmers' issues with the government instead of holding agitations that inconvenience the public and could be exploited by "vested interests".

On the loan waiver demand, he said, "The state government has already formed a committee to look into the issue. Our priority at present is to help farmers who have suffered losses due to heavy rains. We have never said we are against farm loan waivers.''

"My appeal to him is to come and talk to us rather than cause disruptions. In such agitations, elements with vested interests sometimes infiltrate and cause violence, so we must remain vigilant. The government will not allow protests like 'rail roko' and 'road roko','' he said.

(With Agency inputs)