India
Farmers across Indian states call a Bharat Band on Friday, trade unions, activists express solidarity
Farmers, workers, opposition parties unite to protest the farmer's reform bills passed by the Government.
Over 200 farmers organizations across India with support from central trade unions, social activists have geared up for the nation-wide farmers protest on Friday, September 25. The farmers will be protesting the new agricultural bills passed in the parliament despite opposition from farmers and MPs. Several organisations from different sectors have come together on this joint platform under the umbrella organisation the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee.
While the protest has been planned massively in Punjab and Haryana where farmers have already been protesting on the streets against the bills and their hasty clearance in the parliament, the agitation will be reflected across the country. Unions in some states have also hinted at Chakka Jam protests.
Farmers Plan Strikes, Road Blockades, ‘Rail Roko’ Protests Against 3 Agri Bills #AIKSCC https://t.co/WwYxSgGkxd
— Avik Saha (@aviksahaindia) September 20, 2020
Around 28 passenger trains in Punjab have been cancelled between September 24 and 26 in anticipation of the protests. Congress and other opposition parties have also begun protest in the national capital. Local farmers organisations in Maharashtra have also announced that the nation-wide agitation will receive massive support from the farmers in the state.
Two important bills, The Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, under the name of farmers reforms, were passed in the parliament by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led NDA government. While farmers from Punjab and Haryana had been protesting these bills since before they were passed, on September 25, farmers from all over the country have decided to come together against these reforms. One of the main concerns expressed by the farmers is that these reforms leading to corporatisation of the agricultural sectors could pose a threat to the Minimum Support Price (MSP). While the Prime Minister has mentioned in his tweets that MSP will not die, farmers, experts and activists have all questioned why this detail has been left out of the bills.
In a historical decision, 31 farmers organisations in Punjab, backed by different ideologies, have come together in protest. Central trade unions like NTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC have expressed support for the protest. The All Indian Bank Employees Union (AIBEA) has also stood in solidarity with the farmers against the corporatisation of the agricultural sector.
