Punjab farmers will protest against the central government’s three agriculture-related bills by organizing a three-day ‘rail roko’ agitation across the state from September 24 to 26, a farmers’ body announced.
“We have decided to carry out a rail roko agitation from September 24 to 26 in the state against agricultural bills,” said Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee Secretary General Sarwan Singh Pandher.
Already, different farmer organizations in Punjab have called for a ‘bandh’ in protest against the three agricultural laws. Farmers argue that the laws would lead to the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the ‘mercy’ of large corporations.
However, the government says the bills will help farmers across the country get a better market for their price and production.
However, farmers in Punjab and Haryana have been protesting the laws for weeks. On September 10, protesting farmers were charged with latex in Haryana’s Kurukshetra.
On Thursday, Deputy Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and union minister for food processing industries, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, resigned from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet as a sign of protest against the bills. The party, however, will continue to support the government from outside.
Badal was the only SAD representative in the Modi government. The Punjab party is the oldest ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in power in the Center.
While one of the three bills, the 2020 Essential Products (Amendment) Bill, passed on Tuesday, two others were passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday, and the SAD voted against it.
(With contributions from the agency)
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