Reacting to farmer protest in Mumbai, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis “to not stand on ego and to accept their just demands”.

Gandhi in a tweet said, “The mammoth #FarmersMarchToMumbai is a stunning example of people’s power; the Congress party stands with the farmers and tribals marching to protest against the central and state govts.”

The mammoth #FarmersMarchToMumbai is a stunning example of people’s power. The Congress party stands with the Farmers & Tribals marching to protest against the Central & State Govts. apathy.

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I appeal to PM Modi and the CM to not stand on ego and to accept their just demands.

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) March 12, 2018

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Cinestars hail protesters

Bollywood celebrities, including Riteish Deshmukh, Dia Mirza and Onir, on Monday expressed support and respect for the farmer community as an estimated 35,000 peasants completed a 180-km march to Mumbai over six days to bring to the notice of the government the agrarian crisis gripping the state.

The crowd of peasants comprisng men and women of all age groups marched from the Somaiya Grounds, Vidyavihar, at 2 am (Monday) to reach the historic Azad Maidan at dawn, to avoid inconveniencing students appearing for the ongoing board examinations.

This gesture has been hailed by Bollywood celebrities, some of whom have saluted the spirit of the farmers and some of whom have commented on their plight with a pun.

Show of solidarity

Mumbaiker’s also helped protesers by providing them with water and food. In many areas, locals held out food packets and water for distribution.

The protest

Around 35,000 farmers, protesting against the BJP-led government’s failure to address agrarian distress, marched to Mumbai’s Azad Maidan to meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to get their grievances addressed.

#FarmersMarch on its way to Mumbai’s Azad Maidan pic.twitter.com/kBJl9taoDp

— AIKS (@KisanSabha) March 12, 2018

The march, led by All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) — a peasants’ front of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), was launched from Nashik on Tuesday and reached Mumbai’s Azad Maidan early Monday after six days.

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Maharashtra CM Fadnavis has also set up a committee of ministers to address the issues raised by the farmers.

The 180-km foot march started with participation of about 12,000 farmers and the number soon reached 30,000.

Complete loan-waiver and profit of 1.5 times the input cost for all major agriculture commodities are the major demands of the AIKS.

The agitating farmers are also demanding a compensation of Rs 40,000 per acre for destruction of crops due to hailstorm and pink-worm, allocation of forest land under cultivation to farmers and implementation of Forest Rights Act.

(With agency inputs)