Opposition Parties Support Farmers’ Call for ‘Bharat Bandh’ on Dec 8

New Delhi, 07 Dec 2020 [Fik/News Sources]: With protesting farmer unions calling for a ‘Bharat Bandh’ on December 8 even as several rounds of their talks with the Centre remain inconclusive, the opposition Congress on Sunday said that the party supported the proposed nationwide shutdown to protest against the three central farm laws.

The Congress also said that its leader Rahul Gandhi has been on the forefront in opposing these contentious laws through signature campaigns and tractor rallies in Punjab and Haryana in the past.

“The Congress supports the call for the ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by farmers. It is evident is that the BJP has committed a fraud against the people. While claiming that ‘acche din’ or good days are coming, they have clearly let it out that good times are only for a select few,” Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said.

The next meeting for the sixth round of parleys between farmer leaders and the Centre is scheduled in Delhi for December 9.

While the farmers are adamant on their demand for a repeal of the three farms laws enacted in September, the government is agreeable to make suitable amendments to the same.

As the government has not so far been able to come up with a satisfactory resolution to the demands of farmers, the latter have warned to intensify their protests till the three laws that they dubbed “anti-farmer” were not repealed.

The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) also extended support on Sunday to the ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by farmers’ unions on December 8 to oppose and seek repeal of three new central farm legislations.

Telangana Chief Minister and TRS President K Chandrasekhar Rao said that the TRS rank and file would participate actively to make the proposed shutdown a success.

Several trade unions and political parties, including the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Trinamool Congress and the Left parties have already announced their support to the countrywide shutdown.

KCR, as the TRS leader is popularly known, justified the support by stating that the farmers are agitating through lawful means against the Centre’s farm laws.

He recalled that the TRS had opposed the farm Bills in Parliament in September as they were allegedly aimed at harming the interests of Indian farmers.

The TRS chief felt that there was need to continue the agitation till the new legislations were withdrawn.

He also appealed to the people to stand by farmers and make the bandh successful.

KCR had earlier said that the farm laws would benefit the corporates and adversely impact the farmers.

“For public consumption, it was mentioned in the Bills that the farmers can sell their produce anywhere in the country. But in reality, the Bills will enable the traders to go anywhere in the country to buy the produce. The Bills will also help the corporate lobby to spread in all corners of the country and thus pave the way for private traders,” he had said.

Farmers are demanding the withdrawal of the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

As the fifth round of talks between the farmers and the Centre remained inconclusive on Saturday, the sixth round is scheduled to be held in Delhi on December 9.

10 opposition parties lend support to Dec 8 Bharat Bandh
The DMK and its nine allies on Sunday gave a call to farmer, trader, trade union, government employee and other associations to make the December 8 Bharat Bandh called by the farmer unions a success.

In a joint statement issued here, the ten parties condemned the central government’s silence on the demands of the protesting farmers along the borders with Delhi against the three farm laws.

Farmers in large numbers are converging in along borders with Delhi with food stock for six months and their tractors, while the BJP-led Central government is delaying a decision in the guise of talks and is not agreeing for the farmer’s just demands, the opposition parties in Tamil Nadu said.

The ten parties are — DMK, MDMK, CPI, CPI(M), VCK, IUML, Congress, MMK, IJK and KNMNK.

Meanwhile Kamal Haasan’s MNM has sent a delegation to Delhi to lend their support to the farmer’s protest. -IANS