January 1st – On New Year’s Eve, farmers in Rajasthan, India, drove tractors and broke through a roadblock set by the police, and went to the capital New Delhi to join the protest that had lasted for more than a month.
According to India Today, on December 31, 2020, local time, a group of tractor convoys of farmers went to the protest site in New Delhi. They clashed with the police when they broke through the roadblock.
Local police fired tear gas and used high-pressure water guns to intercept them. Police said that farmers on about 25 tractors broke the roadblock.
Police officials said that the tractor convoy is mainly composed of young people. “Some young people come here in the tractor. We try to stop them and persuade them gently. However, they are very aggressive and become very violent.
They don’t even listen to the leaders of farmers’ organizations.” However, some farmers claim that the police have taken punitive measures against farmers who try to cross the border.
On December 30, 2020, local time, the sixth round of talks between the leaders of farmers’ organizations and the Indian government lasted nearly five hours.
The two sides reached some consensus, but the main controversial issues remained deadlocked.
