Opposition march: Sonia Gandhi appeals Prez Mukherjee to intervene in farmers' interest

Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said the opposition parties had got together to protest against the Land Acquisition Bill and to appeal to President Pranab Mukherjee to intervene in the matter to protect the interest of farmers.

"We have got together to meet President to present a memorandum to him. We have come together to oppose the Modi government's amendments to the right to fair compensation and transparency in land acquisition," said Gandhi.

"We have come to President to request him to intervene to protect interest of our farmers. And to stress upon the Modi government not to go ahead with the amendments in Rajya Sabha," she added.

The opposition parties today started their march from the Parliament to the President's House to protest against the Land Acquisition Bill.

Prominent leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Ambika Soni, Rajeev Shukla, Kamal Nath and Ahmed Patel participated in the march.

The BSP, however, opted out of participating in the protest.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Police Commissioner B.S Bassi had said that the protest march has not been prohibited, adding that only demonstrations have been prohibited.

Bassi's statement came after reports stated that the Congress had been denied permission to carry out its march.