Farmers try to reclaim lost ground by dropping plan to march to Parliament on Feb 1 LOSS OF FACE

The farmers’ agitation – bereft of a well-defined leadership and a clear chain of command -- which perhaps was largely responsible for the R-Day disaster, has decided to retrace its steps.

To begin with, it has called off the proposed march to Parliament on February one – the day of Union

Budget’s presentation.

With R-Day’s distressing images playing out on TV incessantly, the unions realise that they run the risk of losing legitimacy and alienating their pan India support base.

Driven on the back-foot by the extremist elements that have sneaked into their ranks and tried to usurp the movement on January 26, the unions have decided to return to their Gandhian devices and plan to organise a nationwide one-day fast on Martyr's Day on January 30.

The unbridled show of aggression – by brandishing swords and chasing men in uniform – has had a collateral damage: the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan and the Bhartiya Kisan Union have announced that they can’t continue with the ongoing protest. ‘‘We are discontinuing our agitation but our fight for farmers' rights will continue," a spokesperson of RKMS was quoted as saying by news agency ANI at Ghazipur border. He added that the agitation will continue "but not like this". This format was not acceptable to them.