Farmers Movement Archive

RJD-led opposition to support Bharat bandh tomorrow

PATNA: The RJD, Congress and the five Left parties on Sunday decided to support and actively participate in Bharat bandh called by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Samiti (AIKSS) on December 8. The one-day bandh has been called by AIKSS to press for withdrawal of three farm laws, guaranteed purchase of the farm produce of the farmers at the minimum support price (MSP) rates and also withdrawal of the proposed electricity Bill by the Centre. As per the decision, the bandh supporters will also prevent vehicular traffic on all the national highways, state highways, major district roads and rural roads on December 8. In Patna, a joint march under the banner of the AIKSS would be taken up from Buddha Smriti Park at 11am. The member organisations of the AIKSS in the state, at their meeting presided by its national general secretary and incharge of the agitations in Bihar Rajaram Singh (former MLA), discussed the nitty-gritty of the preparations for the bandh. Swaraj India representative Rishi Anand also participated in it. They condemned the lodging of police case against the RJD leaders Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Shyam Rajak and Alok Mehta, state Congress president Madan Mohan Jha, as well as CPI and CPM senior functionaries, besides hundreds of others for sitting on dharna at Gandhi Maidan near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on Saturday. The case was lodged at the Gandhi Maidan police station under the Epidemic Diseases Act for alleged violation of Covid protocols. “Tejashwi and RJD’s state president Jagdanand Singh, in consultation with the party’s central leadership, on Sunday decided to actively participate in the Bharat bandh,” RJD state spokesman Chitranjan Gagan said. RJD national general secretary Bhola Yadav has intimated the heads of the party’s units in other states of the decision taken and also asked them to both support and actively participate in the bandh. Party’s state secretary general Alok Mehta has also asked the party units at district and block levels to support the bandh. Congress state president Jha convened the executive committee meeting where he announced the party’s support and its active participation in the bandh. “Movement of traffic on all kinds of roads, including the village link roads, will be blocked,” state Congress spokesman Rajesh Rathore said, adding all the frontal organisations of the party have been activated for the bandh. Meanwhile, the leaders of five-party Left combine – CPI(ML) state secretary Kunal, CPI secretary Ram Naresh Pandey, CPM secretary Awadhesh Kumar, Forward Bloc head Amrika Mahto and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) secretary Birendra Kumar – have already announced their support to the bandh.

The Times of India

2020-12-07

Patna