New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday issued an advisory to all states ahead of the Bharat Bandh (nationwide strike) that has been called by farmers’ unions protesting in Delhi for nearly two weeks over the contentious agricultural laws enacted earlier this year. The ministry asked states and union territories to tighten security and ensure a peaceful protest with no untoward incident.
The MHA advisory also asserted that COVID-19 national directives regarding health and social distancing as ordered previously must be strictly followed. ministry officials said they would be monitoring the supply of essential goods and services in Delhi. Additional security forces have been deployed in the national capital expecting chaos.
Farmer leaders have asserted that the bandh will take place from 11 AM to 3 PM as they don’t want to cause inconvenience to the public. During this time, they will block key roads as part of their ‘Chakka Jam’ protest.
Meanwhile, several services may be affected across states like transportation via cabs, auto-rickshaws and buses. The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), representing about 95 lakh truckers and other entities, said it will suspend operations in the entire country to support the bandh. The Railways are also likely to be hit during the strike.
The ‘Bharat Bandh’ has been called by the farmer unions who have been protesting the three farm laws enacted in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Major political parties, such as the Congress, NCP, DMK, SP, TRS and Left came out in strong support of the bandh.
The Centre has already held five rounds of discussions with the agitating farmers but made little headway as the kisan unions remained adamant on their demand to repeal the laws. In the previous dialogue, union leaders went on a ‘maun vrat’ seeking a clear ‘yes or no’ reply, forcing the Centre to call for another meeting on December 9 to resolve the deadlock.
Earlier yesterday, the BJP slammed the Congress-led Opposition for “shameful double standards”, claiming many of them had endorsed these reforms when in power or had supported them in Parliament.