Farmers up ante ahead of Bharat Bandh today
Prime Minister Modi says reforms are needed for development as he defends farm laws
NEW DELHI: A day before the ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by farmers to protest against changes in the agri-marketing sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said reforms are needed for development and some laws from the past century have become a burden now.
“Reforms are needed for development. Reforms are very much needed for a new order and to give new facilities. We cannot build the next century with the laws of the previous century,” he said during his brief address while launching the Agra metro rail project.
The prime minister, however, made no direct reference to the new laws or the farmers’ protests. “Some laws that used to be good in the past century have become a burden in the present century. Reforms should be a continuous process,” he said.
The nationwide strike will begin at 11 am and go on till 3 pm on Tuesday, the protesting farmers who have blocked several entry points to the national capital said, adding that they don’t want to cause problems for the common man. The farmers have been protesting for the past 12 days, demanding that the three farm laws, which they called “anti-farmer”, be repealed.
Meanwhile, the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), a group representing about 9.5 million truckers and other entities, said it will suspend operations in the entire country on Tuesday to support the nationwide strike.
The All India Railwaymen’s Federation, too, extended its support to the one-day strike. Shiva Gopal Mishra, general secretary, All India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF), met the agitating farmers at Singhu border and assured them that members of the railway union are with them in their fight against the new agriculture laws.
Major political parties such as the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Left parties, have already came out in strong support of the bandh.
The Centre has asked all states and Union Territories to tighten security during Tuesday’s ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by the farmers unions and supported by opposition parties, while asserting that peace and tranquillity must be maintained on that day, officials said.
In a countrywide advisory, the Union home ministry also said the state governments and Union territories (UT) administrations must ensure that the
Covid-19 guidelines issued with regard to health and social distancing are strictly followed.
The nationwide bandh also comes a day ahead of the sixth round of talks between the government and protesting farmers after previous attempts remained inconclusive.