Farmer’s protest: governing Maharashtra parties expected to attend today’s Mumbai march.

Key sentence: 

1. Heads from Maharashtra’s 3 ruling political groups are expected to attend Monday’s public protest by farmers that have come to Mumbai’s Azad Maidan from all over the state. 
2. Farmers have also been arriving in Mumbai for over two days, some of them traveling more than 200 km, rallying against the controversial farm laws.
3. Farmers gathered with several social and political organizations at Azad Maidan to arrange their food and stay. 

Heads from Maharashtra’s 3 ruling political groups are expected to attend Monday’s public protest by farmers that have come to Mumbai’s Azad Maidan from all over the state. The rally of the public would then proceed towards Raj Bhavan.

Farmers have also been arriving in Mumbai over two days, some of them traveling more than 200 km, rallying against the controversial farm laws, and solidarity with all those protesting for around two months near the Delhi border.

The three ruling parties declared their support for the protest:

The three ruling parties, Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress, have declared their support for the movement, along with all leftist parties and the Aam Aadmi Party.

 Key leaders were likely to meet the sit-in at Azad Maidan, namely NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray, and state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat.

Under Samyukt Shetkari Kamgar Morcha (SSKM) leadership, the protest march is one of the agitations conducted to intensify the farmers’ movement in capital cities throughout all states.

Deputy commissioner of police S Chaitanya stated: 

It is unclear whether the police may allow farmers to protest to Raj Bhavan for security purposes; there are signs that only up to Metro Cinema will the rally be permitted. The police, whereas, has ramped up security at Azad Maidan.

“To preserve the law-and-order condition, we will send another 100 officers as well as 500 police constables. Nine State Reserve Police Force platoons have been given including drones will keep a close watch,” Mumbai spokesman and deputy police commissioner S Chaitanya informed.

SSKM’s convenor Ashok Dhawale stated: 

Farmers gathered with several social and political organizations at Azad Maidan to arrange their food and stay. On Monday, the program involves a large protest around 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. followed by a rally to Raj Bhavan, where Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari will receive a memorandum demanding the abolition of the three laws.

“Our primary demand is the repeal of these farm laws and a country-wide law ensuring minimum support prices (MSP) together with the removal of the electricity amendment bill says Ashok Dhawale, SSKM’s convenor.