Monday, 27 September 2021 | PNS | New Delhi
Support has grown for the 10-hour Bharat bandh call given by farmers on Monday to mark the first anniversary of the three controversial farm laws getting presidential assent.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella union of the farmers who are protesting, has appealed to the people of the country to join their nationwide strike. Public transport is likely to be affected in some States.
The Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party, Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh Government, MK Stalin led Tamil Nadu Government and P Vijayan Government of Kerala have backed the bandh call.
Kerala’s ruling LDF has called for a State-wide hartal on September 27 to express solidarity with the farmers. And the Left parties have already extended support to the Bharat Bandh earlier.
The Bharat Bandh will be held from 6 am in the morning to 4 pm in the evening.
The farmers have appealed to all organisations of workers, traders, transporters, businessmen, students, youth and women, and all social movements to extend solidarity with the farmers that day.
In a statement, the SKM said all the Central and State Government offices, markets, shops, factories, schools, colleges and other educational institutions will not be allowed to function. Public and private transport will not be allowed to ply on roads. No public functions will be allowed.
“However, all emergency establishments and essential services, including hospitals, medical stores, relief and rescue work and people attending to personal emergencies will be exempted. The bandh will be enforced in a voluntary and peaceful manner,” the SKM has assured.
Congress general secretary (organisation), KC Venugopal on Sunday said the Congress and its workers will extend our full support to the peaceful Bharat Bandh called by farmer unions on Monday.
“We believe in the right of our farmers and we will stand by them in their fight against the black farm laws,” he said in a tweet.
“All PCC Presidents, Chiefs of Frontal Organisations are requested to go out in front with our Annadatas in their peaceful Bharat Bandh across the country,” Venugopal said.
The ruling DMK has appealed to the people, farmers, farmworkers and traders to take part in the proposed nationwide strike by farmer unions and urged its functionaries as well to make Bharat Bandh a success in Tamil Nadu.
Former Bihar Deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has also extended his support to the farmers’ call for the Bharat Bandh. In a tweet, Tejashwi said in the meeting of the top leaders of the grand alliance parties held at the residence, it was unanimously decided to participate and support the Bharat Bandh called on September 27 “in protest against the anti-farmer policies of the NDA Government”. “We are firm with the farmers,” he said.
In a joint statement, the CPI, CPI(M), All India Forward Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) said the “historic” farmers’ struggle demanding the repeal of the agri-laws and a legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price is in its tenth month, and urged people to come out in support of their cause.
Traders, small industries, shopkeepers have nothing to do with the bandh, Bhartiya Udyog Vyapaar Mandal has said. “The bandh call by a handful of so-called farmers has been virtually sponsored by the opposition parties from the back door for their political gain and is anti-development and senseless besides being against the interest of traders,” national president Ravi Kant Garg said in a statement.
The All India Bank Officers’ Confederation has extended its support to the bandh on Monday. It has requested the Government to have a dialogue with the farmers on their demands and rescind the three laws at the Centre of the standoff.
