NEW DELHI – Major Indian opposition parties boycotted the opening day of Parliament’s budget session Friday in solidarity with farmers engaged in a 2-month standoff over new agricultural laws the government refuses to repeal.
The protests were marked by violence on Tuesday, India’s Republic Day, when tens of thousands of farmers riding tractors and on foot stormed the 17th century Red Fort in a brief but shocking takeover that played out live on news channels.
Clashes between the protesters and government forces left one protester dead and nearly 400 police officers injured. India’s ceremonial President Ram Nath Kovind listed the government’s priorities in an address to Parliament.