- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
AGITATED farmers on Monday (27) blocked highways and other roads at many placed in the northern Indian state of Punjab, where the ruling Indian National Congress said it firmly backs the farm unions’ call for the national strike against the Narendra Modi government’s controversial agricultural laws.
In the neighbouring state of Haryana where Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power, protesters blocked some highways, including in areas like Sirsa, Fatehabad and Kurukshetra.
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The protesting farmers also reportedly blocked railway tracks at a few places in the two states. Several trains were left stranded because of the protest.
Punjab’s newly appointed chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi urged the Modi government to repeal the new laws that the farmers have accused as “anti-farmer” ones.
In a tweet, Channi said, “#I Stand With Farmers & appeal the Union Govt. to repeal the three anti-farmer laws. Our farmers have been struggling for their rights since more than a year & it is high time that their voice is heard. I request the farmers to raise their voice in a peaceful manner (sic).”
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Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu tweeted,“Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee firmly stands by Farmer Unions demand for Bharat Bandh on 27 Sept 2021. In the war of right and wrong you can not afford to be neutral !! We urge every Congress worker to fight with all their might against the three Unconstitutional Black Laws !! (sic).”
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi backed the farmers’ protest, tweeting in Hindi, “Farmers’ non-violent satyagraha is intact even today But exploitation-car government does not like this Therefore #आज_भारत_बंद_है”
किसानों का अहिंसक सत्याग्रह आज भी अखंड है
लेकिन शोषण-कार सरकार को ये नहीं पसंद है
इसलिए #आज_भारत_बंद_है #IStandWithFarmers— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 27, 2021
Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of over 40 farmers’ unions spearheading the agitation, had earlier appealed to the people to join the bandh.
The SKM had also asked political parties to “stand with farmers in their quest to defend principles of democracy and federalism”.
The body also called the struggle “historic”. “As this historic struggle completes 10 months, SKM has called Monday (September 27) to be observed as Bharat Bandh against the anti-farmer Modi government,” the SKM had said in a statement.
“The SKM appeals to every Indian to join this nationwide movement and make Bharat Bandh a resounding success. In particular, we appeal to all organisations of workers, traders, transporters, businessmen, students, youth and women and all social movements to extend solidarity with the farmers that day,” it said.
The bandh was being held from 6 am local time to 4 pm local time during which all government and private offices, educational and other institutions, shops, industries and commercial establishments as well as public events and functions remained closed throughout the country, the SKM’s statement said.
Emergency establishments and essential services, including hospitals, medical stores, relief and rescue work and people attending to personal emergencies were being exempted.
Farmers from different parts of the country, especially Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting at Delhi borders since last November, demanding the repeal of the three contentious farm laws which the central government has claimed would bring major reforms in India’s agricultural sector.
Both Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are set to go to polls next year.
