Farmer organisations have called a "Bharat Bandh" today as their protest against the new farm laws completes 10 months. The farmers have been pressing for a constitutional guarantee on MSP or the minimum support price. They have alleged that the new laws will allow the private firms to take over the agriculture sector.
Samyukt Kisan Morcha, the umbrella body of over 40 farm unions spearheading the farmers' agitation, has appealed to the people to join the bandh.
The body has also asked political parties to "stand with farmers in their quest to defend principles of democracy and federalism".
Several politicians have expressed support for the protesting farmers, including Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and Rahul Gandhi.
Here are the Highlights on Bharat Bandh today:
Regular traffic has resumed on the Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal road and the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal road
Farmers, protesting against Centre's farm laws, have opened the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.
Farmers are sitting on the Delhi-Chandigarh railway track at the Sonipat railway station since this morning, blocking over a dozen trains.
Gujarat largely remained peaceful today during the Bharat Bandh called by farmer unions against the Centre's three farm laws, though there were reports of highways being blocked briefly which affected traffic movement, officials said, reported news agency PTI. Protesters were detained in some parts of the state, they said.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai appealed to farmer unions that have called for the bandh to not cause inconvenience to the public, who are just recovering from the impact of COVID-19, and asked them to express their difference in any other form.
In solidarity with the nationwide strike demanding repeal of the Centre's farm laws, farmer bodies and Left parties on Monday staged protests in several parts of Tamil Nadu.
As farmers have called for a Bharat Bandh to mark one year of three farm laws, former Haryana Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that the government should talk to the protesting farmers without putting any prior condition. Speaking to ANI, Mr Hooda said, "All the Opposition parties, including Congress, are supporting farmers call for Bharat Bandh. We are supporting the farmers'' demand to repeal three farm laws."
The train operations in the national capital and the nearby areas have been affected as hundreds of farmers on Monday has gathered at the railway tracks in the wake of a 10-hour Bharat Bandh called by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM). According to the Northern Railway, the rail operations in Delhi, Ambala and Firozepur divisions were impacted by people sitting on tracks.
Farmer organisations have called a "Bharat Bandh" today as part of their long protest seeking withdrawal of three farm laws that they allege will give power to private firms to take over the agriculture sector.
Highways, roads and railway tracks were blocked in several places across Bihar on Monday as Bharat Bandh evoked a mixed response in the state. RJD and Congress workers blocked roads in Patna, Bhojpur, Lakhisarai, Jahanabad, East Champaran, Begusarai, Madhepura and Nalanda districts, affecting the movement of the traffic.
About 25 trains have been affected due to the Bharat Bandh called by farm unions on Monday, officials said. These include Delhi-Amritsar Shan-e-Punjab, New Delhi-Moga Express, Old Delhi-Payhajot Express, Vande Bharat Express from New Delhi to Katra, and Amritsar Shatabdi.
Markets were shut and public transport stayed off the roads as the Bharat Bandh hit normal life in Odisha on Monday. Supporters of the shutdown, including members of Congress and the Left parties, picketed at important junctions across the state amid rains, demanding repeal of the three farm laws. Roads were blocked at different places in Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir, Rayagada and Subarnapur, among others.
In solidarity with the nationwide strike demanding repeal of Centre's farm laws, farmer bodies and Left parties on Monday staged protests in several parts of Tamil Nadu. In a protest held, State Secretaries of the CPI and CPI(M), R Mutharasan and K Balakrishnan respectively, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi chief Thol Thirumavalavan and functionaries of the ruling DMK affiliated Labour Progressive Federation participated.
Farmer organisations have called a "Bharat Bandh" today as part of their long protest seeking withdrawal of three farm laws that they allege will give power to private firms to take over the agriculture sector. Several trains have been cancelled.
Autorickshaws and taxis plied normally and shops were open in the national capital on Monday, with their unions and associations extending only "in-principle support" to the Bharat Bandh called by farmers but deciding not to join the strike. The auto, taxi unions and traders bodies said their livelihood has already been hit hard due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown so they were not joining any strike.
The Delhi Police on Saturday said adequate security arrangements will be made across the borders of the national capital in view of the 'Bharat Bandh' called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha on September 27 to protest the Centre's three contentious farm laws.
Farmer organisations have called a "Bharat Bandh" today as part of their long protest seeking withdrawal of three farm laws that they allege will give power to private firms to take over the agriculture sector. Several trains have been cancelled. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of over 40 farm unions, is leading the 6 am-4 pm protest today. The group has said they will not allow movement on some sections of national highways. This morning, Delhi-Meerut Expressway was blocked near the Ghazipur protest site, affecting the traffic coming from Uttar Pradesh. Huge traffic jams were seen at Delhi's borders with Gurgaon and Noida as vehicles entering the national capital were hecked by Delhi Police and paramilitary jawans.
Farmer organisations have called a "Bharat Bandh" today as part of their long protest seeking withdrawal of three farm laws that they allege will give power to private firms to take over the agriculture sector. The farmers have blocked the Delhi-Meerut Expressway near Ghazipur border.
Farmers today blocked the Sonepat Railway station in the wake of the Bharat Bandh called by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM).The farmer organisations have given the call to block state and national highways between 6am and 4pm today.
"Farmers' non-violent satyagraha is intact even today, but the exploitative government does not like this and that is why we have Bharat Bandh today," tweeted Rahul Gandhi in Hindi, adding the #IStandWithFarmers
"Ambulances, doctors or those going for an emergency can pass through. We've not sealed down anything, we just want to send a message. We appeal to the shopkeepers to keep their shops closed for now and open only after 4pm. No farmer is coming here from outside," farmer leader Rakesh Tikait.
During the bandh period (6am-4pm), all government and private offices, educational and other institutions, shops, industries and commercial establishments as well as public events and functions will be closed throughout the country, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha said. However, exemptions to the bandh include all emergency establishments and essential services, including hospitals, medical stores, relief and rescue work and people attending to personal emergencies.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar emphasised on Sunday that farmers' protest should not become a political issue. "Farmers movement should not be mixed with politics. Farmer belongs to all. The government has negotiated with the farmers union very sensitively and is ready to do so in future also," said Mr Tomar.
A day before the proposed Bharat Bandh, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday said farmers should leave the path of agitation and opt for dialogue.
"I would like to appeal to farmers to leave the path of agitation and follow the path of dialogue. The government is ready to consider the objections raised by them. There have been several discussions earlier. If there is anything left, the government is definitely ready to talk," he said.
Farmers from different parts of the country, especially Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting along the state border in Delhi since November last year, demanding repeal of the three farm laws that they fear would do away with Minimum Support Price eventually, leaving them at the mercy of big firms.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday said farmers are ready to protest for 10 years, but will not allow the "black" legislations to be implemented. "It has been 10 months of this agitation. The government must listen with open ears that even if we have to agitate for 10 years we are ready," Mr Tikait said at a farmers' gathering in Panipat.
The Congress has asked all its workers, state unit chiefs and heads of frontal organisations to take part in the Bharat Bandh. Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said party workers will extend "full support to the peaceful Bharat Bandh". "We believe in the right of our farmers and we will stand by them in their fight against the black farm laws," he tweeted.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of over 40 farm unions, is leading the protest today. The group has said they will not allow movement on some sections of national highways.
The bandh will be held from 6 am to 4 pm, during which government and private offices, educational and other institutions, shops, industries and commercial establishments will be closed across the country, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha said.
The farmers have blocked the Delhi-Meerut Expressway near Ghazipur border. The traffic movement has been closed from Uttar Pradesh towards Ghazipur due to protest, tweeted Delhi Traffic Police.