Bharat bandh today: From bank union to Opposition parties, support grows for farmers’ strike
Farmers have been protesting for over a year now, seeking a repeal of the three farm laws.
Bharat Bandh: The bandh will be held from 6 in the morning to 4 in the evening during which 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.
Bharat bandh on September 27: The Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s (SKM) call for a Bharat Bandh on Monday, to mark the first anniversary of the three controversial farm laws getting Presidential assent, has garnered support from all sections of the society, including political parties.
Many Opposition parties have expressed their support to the bandh — while Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has supported the bandh, Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav has announced that he will participate in the nationwide strike. The Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu governments, too, have declared complete support to the nationwide strike. Congress has also said that it will be joining the protests on Monday.
Bharat bandh timings
The bandh will be held from 6 in the morning to 4 in the evening during which 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. However, all emergency establishments and essential services, including hospitals, medical stores, relief and rescue work and people attending to personal emergencies will be exempted. The bandh will be enforced in a voluntary and peaceful manner, the SKM has assured.
Bharat bandh on September 27: Andhra Pradesh govt extends support to farmers
The Andhra Pradesh government has declared full support to the Bharat Bandh on September 27, and also to workers of Visakhapatnam steel plant, state Information and Transport Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) said on Saturday.
Nani told reporters that the state government has decided to stop APSRTC buses across the state from September 26 midnight to September 27 afternoon.
DMK backs call for ‘Bharat Bandh’
The ruling DMK has appealed to the people, farmers, farmworkers and traders to take part in the proposed nationwide strike on September 27 by farmer unions and urged its functionaries as well to make the “Bharat Bandh” a success in Tamil Nadu.
The party stands with farmers protesting in Delhi and other places against the farm laws, DMK’s state agriculture wing chief NKK Periyasamy said, adding that the Centre was autocratic and never pays heed to them. Tamil Nadu farmers, farmworkers, general public, traders and all social outfits should participate in the bandh and make it a complete success, he requested.
Kerala: Ruling LDF calls for bandh on September 27
Kerala’s ruling LDF has also called for a state-wide hartal on 27 September to express solidarity with the farmers. This call was announced by LDF convenor and CPI(M) acting secretary A Vijayaraghavan after the meeting of the leaders of the ruling party alliance in Thiruvananthapuram.
Speaking to the media, Vijayaraghavan said five lakh people will participate in the protest. He claimed that over 100 organisations including motor transport workers, bank employees and farmers organisations have extended their support to the LDF agitation.
Bharat bandh on September 27: Congress to join farmers’ protest
The Congress will join the September 27 “Bharat Bandh” called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha to mark the first anniversary of passing of the three controversial farm laws in Parliament, the party announced on Saturday.
Party spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said the Narendra Modi government has systematically assaulted the agriculture sector in the past seven years. At the very onset in 2014, the Modi government came up with the Land Acquisition Ordinance to usurp farm lands in the name of strategic sectors but the government had to drop this bill, he said.
“The Modi government is responsible for all round ruin of the farm sector. And now they are turning a blind eye towards the farmers who have been protesting for nine months braving the elements at the Delhi border. 600 farmers have died in this agitation but the government still insists on not talking about the farm laws,” Vallabh added.
Tejashwi Yadav to participate in Bharat Bandh
Former Bihar Deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has also extended his support to the farmers’ call for the Bharat Bandh.
In a tweet, Tejashwi Yadav said that in the meeting of the top leaders of the grand alliance parties held at the residence, it was unanimously decided to participate and support the Bharat Bandh called on September 27 “in protest against the anti-farmer policies of the NDA government”. “We are firm with the farmers,” he said.
Bharat bandh: Bank officers’ union extends support
The All India Bank Officers’ Confederation has extended its support to the bandh on Monday. It has requested the government to have a dialogue with the farmers on their demands and rescind the three laws at the centre of the standoff. The confederation said that its affiliates and state units will join in solidarity with the protest actions of the farmers all over the country on Monday.
