As the day ended in a mostly peaceful shutdown and farmers hailed their show of force as a success, Union Interior Minister Amit Shah stepped in to summon his leaders to talks, ahead of the sixth round of talks between central ministers and farmers’ representatives on Wednesday.
Farmers Protest: Live Updates
“There is no middle ground. We will demand just a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ from Interior Minister Amit Shah,” farmer leader Rudru Singh Mansa told reporters on the Singhu border, where thousands of farmers have been protesting for the last 12 days. A delegation of 13 leaders will meet with Shah.
The nationwide shutdown was observed at around 10,000 locations in 25 states, Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav claimed.
Emergency services were exempted and banks also continued their operations as the pan-India shutdown, backed by most opposition parties and unions, unfolded loudly but peacefully and its impact was felt in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, the epicenter of the snowball protests. as well as in states like Odisha, Maharashtra, Bihar and Jharkhand.
The pandemic seemed to fade into the background as security across the country tightened, restless crowds demonstrated in some places, and numbers spiked at the Delhi border points. Protesters also blocked train tracks in various locations in West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.
As slogans such as “Kisan Ekta Zindabad” were heard in protest centers such as Tikri and the unrest accelerated, so did social media with the hashtag #Aaj_Bharat_Bandh_Hai, a worldwide trend until late afternoon.
From Rajasthan’s capital Jaipur, where the ‘mandis’ were closed but the shops were open, there were reports of clashes between workers from the state’s ruling Congress and the BJP.
In Delhi, where most of the major markets were open, tension increased with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which alleged that Delhi police had placed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal under house arrest until overnight. The city police denied the claim, but AAP leaders stood firm.
Farmers’ unions had threatened to block national roads and occupy toll plazas across the country during a “chakka jam” protest from 11 am to 3 pm.
All of India Kisan Sabha Secretary General Hannan Mollah described the shutdown as a show of force by farmers.
“We support our demand that we want a complete repeal of the three laws and we will not accept any cosmetic changes … If our demands are not met, we are ready to take our agitation to the next level,” Mollah said.
Protesting farmers fear that the new laws will pave the way to remove the safety of the Minimum Livelihood Price cushion and end the ‘mandis’, leaving them at the mercy of large corporations. The government maintains that the new laws will provide better opportunities for farmers and usher in new technologies in agriculture.
Opposition parties are expected to meet with Kovind on Wednesday night to raise concerns about the three laws.
“The leaders of different political parties (those who oppose the farm bills) will sit down, discuss and take a collective position on the controversial farm laws before meeting with President Ram Nath Kovind,” the chief told reporters. from the PCN, Sharad Pawar.
Farmers in Punjab and also in Haryana have been the promoters of the anti-law movement. In both states, stores and commercial establishments were closed, as well as thousands of fuel pumps. Farmers gathered on highways and other key highways in both states early in the morning.
All major Punjab parties, the ruling Congress, the AAP and the Shiromani Akali Dal, expressed their support.
More than 50,000 government employees took massive casual leave in support of farmers, said the president of the Punjab Civil Secretariat Staff Association Sukhchain Khaira.
In neighboring BJP-JJP, Haryana ruled, the opposition Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal extended their support.
The Haryana Police traffic advisory had warned travelers that the main national highways would be closed and the peak impact time was expected to be between 12 noon and 3 p.m.
In West Bengal, where Trinamool’s ruling Congress joined Congress and the left in supporting the shutdown but steered clear of enforcing it, the response was mixed. Train tracks were blocked in several places and there were sit-ins on main roads.
Life was also disrupted in Bihar with the railroad tracks, highways and internal roads filled with protesters as opposition parties extended their support.
In Jehanabad, the movement of the Patna-Palamu Express was obstructed for a few minutes until the police drove off the bandh supporters, who were squatting on the tracks.
Train services were also affected in Odisha as activists from farmers’ organizations, trade unions and political parties held sit-ins on the Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Bhadrak and Balasore tracks.
In other parts of the state, ruled by Biju Janata Dal, normal life was disrupted with the closure of markets and offices and Congress and supporters of the left blocking main roads.
The main cities of Chhattisgarh, ruled by Congress, were deserted, most of the commercial establishments were closed and public transport was kept away.
In Maharashtra, where the ruling Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combination extended its support, wholesale markets in major cities such as Pune, Nashik, Nagpur and Aurangabad were closed. Retail stores also lowered the blinds in many cities.
Agricultural Products Market Committees (APMC) have been closed in many parts of the state.
The state government appealed to protesters not to interrupt public transport services and local buses and trains were not affected.
“… The situation needs to be created to put pressure on the government and, to achieve this, farmers must take to the streets. But no one should resort to violence, “said social activist Anna Hazare, who fasted all day in her village, Ralegan Siddhi, in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.
There was also a mixed response in other states.
In Assam, shops lowered the blinds, protesters blocked traffic and rallies were organized, but most offices were operational. Dozens of protesters were detained, authorities said.
The ruling TRS and opposition parties, including Congress and several unions, held protests in Telangana.
In Tamil Nadu, the opposition DMK and its allies, including Congress, held protests across the state, but life was largely unaffected.
In the territory of the Puducherry union, ruled by Congress, however, the so-called ‘bandh’ provoked an almost total response.
Normal life was disrupted in parts of Karnataka as farmers and workers took to the roads. Many organizations in the state supported the bandh.
In some states, including Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh, life continued unhindered.
The three contentious laws at the center of farmers ‘protests are the Agricultural Products Trade and Trade (Promotion and Facilitation) Act of 2020, the Farmers’ Price Guarantee and Agricultural Services (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of 2020 and the Essential Products (Amendment) Act of 2020.
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