Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers, workers hold protest march in city against farm laws

PATNA: Ahead of the Bharat Bandh called by the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha against the Centre’s three farm-laws, the Bihar Rajya Kisan Sabha (BRKS) and Bihar Rajya Farm Labour Union (BRFLU) held a protest march on Wednesday from Kargil Chowk near Gandhi Maidan to Vidhan Sabha under the banner of the All India Kisan Sabha, an affiliate of the CPI(M). Hundreds of farmers and labourers joined the protest march demanding the withdrawal of the laws and demanded a legal guarantee for the purchase of crops at MSP. The protest, however, was interrupted by police near JP Golambar, where the protestors staged dharna for a couple of hours. The protest was led by the BRKS’s president Ramchandra Singh, who addressed the gathering and appealed to farmers and labourers to join the nation-wide lockdown on Friday. Singh said since January 22, the government is deliberately avoiding talks with farmers. “The PM Narendra Modi is constantly misleading the country by saying that it will be resolved soon, but he is not taking any initiative. Farmers are ready to talk to the government, but the government should clear its intention about the three agricultural laws. If the government announces the withdrawal and the legal status of the MSP, then the farmers are ready to negotiate,” he said. The BRFLU vice-president Nagendra Nath Ojha said this law was not only against the farmers but also labourers. Meanwhile, several farmers' associations and labourers in the state will join the pan-India strike on March 26. BRKS’s general secretary Ashok Singh said all activities, including transportation, business establishments, would remain shut on Friday. To intensify the protest against farm laws, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait, along with other farmer-leaders, would participate in a Kisan Mahapanchayat in Rohtas district on Thursday. Besides farm laws, issues such as rise in petrol, diesel and LPG cylinder prices among others will also be raised in the Mahapanchayat.

The Times of India

2021-03-25

Patna