On Tuesday, a delegation of Tamil Nadu Farmers Protection Association said that hundreds of farmers from Tamil Nadu were ready to join the protest at Delhi- borders if the central government did not roll back the three farm laws.

The leaders said that hundreds of farmers from the south Indian state have planned to drive to Delhi in tractors by next week, educating people about the lapses and harms of the new farm bills on their way to join the movement in Delhi.

The 12-member delegation from Coimbatore that had come to visit the farmer-groups who have been camping at Singhu border since November 27, said that the farmers’ demands are legitimate and the central government cannot turn a deaf ear towards them.

Nalla Gounder, coordinator of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Protection Association said, that in Tamil Nadu also,  there were protests against the bills in small groups.

“Since the protest in Delhi by our farmer brothers from Haryana and Punjab is growing stronger, we want to add to the number and boost their morale. I am myself a farmer and we are well aware of the harms of the new bills. We support the demand for it to be repealed. If the government continues to act deaf towards our demands, hundreds of farmers from Tamil Nadu are ready to fuel the ongoing protest,” Gounder said.

The coordinator said that 200 farmers had booked train tickets to come to Delhi but they were stopped by the state government. He also added, “12 of us have come today by air and we ensure more our men will join in days to come.” Easan, another farmer leader who had come to Delhi from Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, said that at least 100 tractors are ready to start moving towards Delhi by next week. “On our way to the Capital by road we will spread awareness about the dangers of the new farm laws. Each tractor will have at least 10-12 farmers,” Easan said.

Welcoming the support, Harinder Singh Lakhowal, general secretary, Bharatiya Kisan Union, Ludhiana said that they were delighted to see farmers from other states coming out in support.

Lakhowal also said, “A major protest against the bill was also organized today in Maharashtra. They even contacted us and assured us of their physical presence if need be. We are delighted to have witnessed such a massive response to our movement that will benefit farmers in the India regardless of which state they come from.”

On an overall basis, the farmers’ agitation had remained peaceful on Tuesday as it completed its 27th day. The farmers at the Singhu border spent their day mostly delivering speeches from the central stage, raising anti-farm law slogans, singing songs, raising banners, cooking and distributing langars.

Senior police officers also said that their deployment at the border remained as usual. A senior police officer from Singhu border said, “The protest remained peaceful on Tuesday with no untoward incident reported from any part of the Delhi’s borders where the farmers have been camping since last month. We maintained our deployment of the security personnel and the situation is being closely monitored.”

With regards to the farmers’ protests, a Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi would meet  the President on December 24 to submit around two crore signatures collected from across India.

A relay hunger strike has begun as farmers harden their stance amid protests that began late November around Delhi borders. After five rounds of negotiations failed, the government had asked the protesting farmers to choose a date for the next round of talks. The relay hunger strike is the third major national event staged by the farmers after a countrywide shutdown earlier this month, which was backed by opposition parties and trade unions, and last week’s hunger strike by farmer leaders.

Farmer groups have also appealed to those in Bihar and other states to join the agitation to further pressurize the government to repeal the three contentious farm laws. Meanwhile, thousands of farmers have started off from Maharashtra to join the protest at Delhi borders where farmers from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh have been camping for weeks. Shiromani Akali Dal, a former NDA ally, has demanded an emergency Parliament session to annul the new laws. The LDF government in Kerala has decided to convene a special session on Wednesday to pass a resolution against the farm laws.

As the farmers from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are gathering to support the protests, the GOI is getting gradually cornered over the contentious farm laws.