Odisha Congress holds tractor rally against farm laws

Bhubaneswar, Nov 9 (IANS) The Odisha unit of Congress on Monday organised a mega tractor rally protesting against the new farm laws enacted by the Centre.The tractor rally was organised from Congress Bhawan in Bhubaneswar till Cuttack demanding immediate withdrawal of the newly enacted farm laws.Hundreds of Congress workers participated in the rally. However, they were stopped midway and not allowed to enter Cuttack by the Commissionerate Police."To protest against the anti-farmer laws, we have organised a tractor rally. Today is a one day protest but we will carry the protest in all the assembly segments in the coming days," informed A. Chella Kumar, party in-charge of Odisha.He said as both the BJP and the BJD are exploiting the farmers, the Congress will educate the farmers about the ill-effects of the new legislation.Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) President Niranjan Patnaik demanded immediate withdrawal of the new farm laws for the greater interest of lakhs of farmers across the country."The farm laws are against the interest of farmers. The Modi government is for the capitalists and they want to exploit the farmers. We want to pressurise the Centre to withdraw the anti-farmer laws," said Patnaik.Last month, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi had held tractor rallies in Punjab and Haryana to protest against the new farm laws.
--IANS cd/arm