Farmers' organisations have announced a 'Bharat Bandh' on Friday against the Farm Bills, which have been passed by Parliament. They have also decided to converge at the memorial of Lal Bahadur Shastri in Delhi on October 2 to register their protest.
The protest against the Bills in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states has already spilled onto the streets in a major way. Farmers' organisations, including the Bharatiya Kisan Union, are preparing for a "Chakka Jam". The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ambavata) said they will move towards the memorial of Lal Bahadur Shastri in Delhi on October 2 and decide the strategy for the future.
Soon after the Bandh was announced, the police tightened the security. In the national capital, Delhi Police and paramilitary have increased their presence. More deployments have been done in areas bordering Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Maharashtra also witnessed protest of farmers. Members of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, in the leadership by former MP Raju Shetti, burnt copies of the bills in Kolhapur district and stated that they will strengthen the protest if the bills are not withdrawn by the Centre.
Hindustan Times quoted Shetti as saying, “Shetkari Sanghatana has always been against the Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs), and our leader late Sharad Joshi used to call these committees ‘abattoirs’ of the farmers. However, we do not endorse the way the existing system is being thrashed out by the Central government. This is an attempt to make farmers slaves in the hands of industrialists.”
In the wake of a call for a bandh by different political parties to protest against the passage of the three contentious agriculture-related Bills by Parliament, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday led a 'tractor march' on the Patna roads. He said that "black Bills" pertaining to agriculture had been passed.
(With inputs from IANS)
