Farmers’ Bharat Bandh tomorrow; Union Government has no time for talks with them
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and over 100 other organisations are all set for the Bharat Bandh tomorrow, in support of the farmers who are protesting against the three farm laws introduced by the BJP-led government at the Centre.
September 27, marks the first anniversary of the passing of the three bills by the Parliament and the farmers and their organisation have called for a Bharat Bandh to condemn the government and to demand the withdrawal of the three laws.
The three laws are The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020. While farmers all over the country and almost all opposition parties have called these laws anti-farmers, the Union Government claims that the three laws are a major agricultural reform.’ — were passed by Parliament in September last year. The Centre has been projecting the three laws as major agricultural reforms.
The farmers and the opposition parties have expressed fears that the agricultural laws would do away with the minimum support price system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.
The Bharat Bandh will be from 6 am to 4 pm, however, emergency establishments and essential services including hospitals, medical stores, relief and rescue work and people attending to personal emergencies will be exempted from the bandh.
The SKM has appealed ‘to every Indian’ to join this nationwide movement and make the Bharat Bandh a resounding success. “In particular, we appeal to all organisations of workers, traders, transporters, businessmen, students, youth and women and all social movements to extend solidarity with the farmers that day,” a SKM said in a statement.
Among the political parties supporting the Bandh are the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Telugu Desam Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Aam Aadmi Party.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has supported the bandh, while Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav has announced that he will participate in the nationwide bandh. The governments of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, have declared complete support to the bandh and the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala has also called for a hartal in support of the Bharat Bandh called by the farmers.
The Federation of Private Schools Associations of Punjab as well as Haryana have announced that private schools would remain closed on Monday. Bar Associations in different towns are also announcing the suspension of work on Monday
Farmers from different parts of the country and primarily from Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting at Delhi state boundaries since November, demanding the repeal of the three contentious farm laws.
The government and farmer unions have held 11 rounds of talks so far, without reaching an agreement. The last round of talks was held on 22 January. Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that he is only a phone call away for the farmers, there have been no efforts on the party Modi or his government to talk to the farmers after January 22.