Outstanding leaders, including the president of Congress Sonia GandhiPCN leader Sharad Pawar, PCM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, DMK chief MK Stalin, and PAGD president Farooq Abdullah also issued a joint statement supporting the proposed day-long strike and lobbied to the Center to meet the legitimate demands of the protesters.
Claiming that their unrest has spread across the country, peasant leaders, who have maintained that their protest is apolitical, welcomed the support and urged everyone to come forward to make Tuesday’s Bharat Bandh a success.
After five rounds of talks between the Center and the farmers’ unions failed to end the stalemate, the two sides are scheduled to meet again on December 9, the day after the nationwide strike.
“This agitation is not just from the farmers of Punjab, but from the whole nation. We are going to strengthen our agitation and it has already spread throughout the country,” said farmer leader Baldev Singh Yadav at a press conference.
“Since the government was unable to deal with us properly, we made an appeal to Bharat Bandh,” he said, calling on everyone to ensure that the bandh remains at peace.
“We will not allow anyone to become violent and we will take strict measures against them. We request that everyone be part of the bandh,” he said.
During the bandh, shops and businesses will be closed. Ambulances and other emergency services will be exempt, farmer leaders said.
Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena, TRS, DMK, SP and the AAP joined the Trinamool Congress, RJD and left-wing parties in supporting the strike call.
The head of the NCP and former union agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar, warned the Center that if the stalemate continues, the unrest will not be limited to Delhi and people across the country will support protesting farmers.
Pawar is scheduled to meet with the president Ram Nath Kovind on December 9 over the ongoing farmers’ protest, his party said.
Expressing congressional “unconditional” support for the strike call, party spokesman Pawan Khera said protests will be held on that day in all districts and state headquarters in solidarity with the demands of farmers.
India’s first Olympic boxing medalist and party leader Vijender Singh threatened to return his award to Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna if the central government does not withdraw the agricultural laws. Several athletes from Punjab and Haryana have also said they will return their awards.
TRS Chairman and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the party rank and file would actively participate in the bandh to ensure it was a success, according to an official statement.
Rao justified the support, stating that farmers are legally agitating against farm laws enacted in September and recalled his party’s opposition to the legislation in Parliament.
In their joint statement, Sonia Gandhi and other opposition leaders said they extend “solidarity with the ongoing massive struggle of Indian farmers” and their call for a Bharat Bandh on December 8 demanding the withdrawal of these “retrograde” agricultural laws. and electricity. Amendment bill.
Also among the signatories were RJD Tejashwi Yadav, The head of the Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav, the general secretary of the CPI, D Raja, the general secretary of the CPI (ML) Dipankar Bhattacharya, the general secretary of the AIFB, Debabrata Biswas, and the general secretary of the RSP Manoj Bhattacharya.
These laws “threaten India’s food security, destroy Indian agriculture and our farmers, lay the groundwork for the abolition of the Minimum Livelihood Price (MSP), and mortgage Indian agriculture and our markets at the whims of multinational agro-industrial corporations and national corporations, “the statement alleges.
The leaders said the central government must adhere to democratic norms and processes and “comply with the legitimate demands of our Kisans-Annadatas.”
Several regional teams also issued joint statements in states such as Assam and Tamil nadu backing up Bandh’s call.
In Tamil Nadu, Stalin, TNCC chief KS Alagiri, MDMK founder Vaiko, and left-wing leaders, among other DMK allies, said the ongoing protest by farmers was growing by the day and attracting global attention. .
The DMK chief had led a statewide protest Saturday against the farm laws.
In a statement, Stalin, TNCC chief KS Alagiri, MDMK founder Vaiko, and left-wing leaders, among other DMK allies, said the ongoing protest outside Delhi by farmers was growing by the day. and attracted world attention.
The group called on farmers’ unions, merchant bodies, government employee associations, trade unions and others in the state to provide “great support” for the bandh and make it a success on Tuesday.
Actor Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) also extended his support for the farmers’ protest.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that all AAP workers across the country will join the national strike and called on all citizens to support farmers.
“The Aam Aadmi Party fully supports the so-called ‘Bharat Bandh’ made by farmers on December 8. AAP workers across the country will support it peacefully. All compatriots should call for everyone to support farmers and join in on it, “Kejriwal tweeted.
AAP leader and Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said volunteers and workers will take part in the strike to support farmers.
The AIUDF along with other opposition parties in Assam also joined the chorus that supported the strike.
The BJP’s ruling ally, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), extended its support to farmers, but refrained from uniting for the national shutdown.
Pawar, whose PNC is part of the Congress-led UPA, said farmers in Punjab and Haryana are the biggest contributors to the country’s agriculture and food supply.
“I hope the government will realize the wisdom and take knowledge to solve the problem. If this stalemate continues, the protest will not be limited to Delhi, but people from all corners of the country will support the protesting farmers,” he said. . in Mumbai.
In Maharashtra, the ruler Shiv Sena also came out in support of his allies, Congress and the PNC.
The president of Shiv Sena and CM Uddhav Thackeray is against the central laws which are against farmers and against workers. We support Bharat bandh, “Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai told PTI on Sunday evening.
Another former BJP ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal, who had broken ties with the saffron party over agricultural laws, appealed to the Punjabis to support the bandh.
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said his party would work assiduously with the peasantry to ensure the repeal of the new agricultural marketing laws.
In a statement, Badal said it was regrettable that the central government “deliberately delayed” and “deliberately delayed” in making a decision on the demands of peasant organizations.
The ruling TMC in West Bengal had extended “moral support” to the December 8 national strike on Saturday and said it would organize sit-ins in various areas for three days.
The left parties – Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Revolutionary Socialist Party and All India Forward Bloc – had made the announcement in a joint statement.
In Patna, opposition parties led by RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav had protested Saturday against the farmers’ bill.
The joint forum of trade unions that has supported the farmers’ movement includes the National Trade Union Congress of India (INTUC), the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), the Trade Union Center of India (CITU), All India United Trade Union Center (AIUTUC) and Trade Union Coordination Center (TUCC).
The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, a farmers’ body, said it will join the “non-violent” protest on Tuesday.
Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various border points in Delhi for 11 days against the new agricultural laws.
The Center’s offer to amend contentious laws failed to cut the ice with farmer groups during the fifth round of talks on Saturday.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, after the talks, renewed his call on farmers to end the uproar and assured them that the Modi government remains committed to the interests of farmers.
He called on the farmers’ unions to send the elderly, women and children back to their homes after the protest due to the cold weather.
BJP leader and former Union minister Shahnawaz Hussain on Sunday expressed hope for an early resolution, saying his party fully sympathizes with the agitated peasantry.
However, he claimed that farmers are being “misled” by some vested interests.
The three agricultural laws enacted in September have been projected by the government as major reforms in the agricultural sector that will cut out middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.
However, protesting farmers have expressed their fear that the new laws would pave the way to remove the Minimum Livelihood Price safety cushion and wipe out the mandis, leaving them at the mercy of large corporations. The Center has repeatedly stated that these mechanisms will continue.
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