Farmers Movement Archive

Moderate response to Bharat Bandh call

The ‘Bharat Bandh’ given by farmers’ organisations received moderate response in the temple city of Tirupati on Tuesday. The sentiment was scarcely felt in the predominantly-urban localities, though political parties left no stone unturned to ensure its success. With the State government extending tacit support till lunch hour, many government offices remained closed till 1 p.m. Most of the APSRTC buses were also confined to bus stations, and one or two that ventured out was stopped by party activists. Congress leaders led by State General Secretary D. Rambhupal Reddy and All India Congress Committee(AICC) member Penubala Chandrasekhar squatted in front of buses to prevent them from plying on the roads. Members of All India Student Federation(AISF) and All India Youth Federation(AIYF) blocked the Chennai-Bangalore highway at Tanapalle cross on the city outskirts. The major junction witnessed traffic jam for a while before the traffic police took charge of the situation. The CPI activists roamed around the city in the forenoon to make the bandh a success. Though they tried to close the commercial outlets, there was lukewarm response from the public. In a separate protest, Congress Working Committee(CWC) member Chinta Mohan flayed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as ‘anti-farmer’ and accused the YSCRP and TDP of being hand-in-glove with the Centre in supporting the farm bills. TDP team submitted a representation to the Collector Bharat N. Gupta, urging him to take pro-farmer measures. “Farmers shedding tears will not augur well for any State”, they said in unison

The Hindu

2020-12-09

TIRUPATI,ANDHRA PRADESH