New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted his support to the ‘Bharat bandh’, seeking the withdrawal of three farms laws. The Congress has asked all its workers, state unit chiefs and heads of frontal organisations to take part in the Bharat Bandh.
“Farmers’ non-violent satyagraha is intact even today, but the exploitative government does not like this and that is why we have Bharat Bandh today,” posted Rahul Gandhi in Hindi in a Haiku-like tweet. The Congress leader ended his tweet with a declarative #IStandWithFarmers.
The protesters have blocked train tracks because of which several trains have been cancelled. Roads were blocked with traffic at Delhi’s borders with Gurgaon and Noida as vehicles entering the national capital were hecked by Delhi Police and paramilitary jawans.
Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of over 40 farm unions, is leading the protest from 6am-4pm today. The protest is said to be peaceful. Spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Rakesh Tikait has apologised for the inconvenience but have said that the protesters have made arrangements for the passengers.
“On SKM call of ‘Bharat Bandh’ got unprecedented support across the country, we apologise for the problems being faced by the citizens, but farmers are also facing all the problems for 10 months, arrangements of water, tea and milk for the passengers have been done.” Rakesh Tikait tweeted.
Farmers organisation have called for a ‘Bharat bandh’ on Monday. This is a part of the long protest that have been carried out by the farmers against the three farm laws.
The protest began at 6am and is supposed to end at 4pm. Some sections on the highways are curbed by the protesters. This morning, Delhi-Meerut Expressway was blocked near the Ghazipur protest site, affected the traffic coming from Uttar Pradesh.
School, colleges, shops, government and private offices, educational and other institutions, industries and commercial establishments will be closed across the country, the SKM said.
Shambhu border near Haryana is blocked by the farmers. The state police on Sunday said people to be prepared to face traffic congestion. “It is expected the agitating groups may sit on dharna on roads and highways and block them for some time. The national and state highways in Haryana may see some traffic disruptions for several hours,” a state police spokesperson said.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
