Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 6: More support are pouring in for the agitating farmers with boxer Vijender Singh becoming the latest sportsperson on Sunday expressing his solidarity with them and several opposition parties extending support to the “Bharat Bandh” call for December 8 to press the demand for repeal of the three contentious farm acts.
With the fifth round of talks ending in a deadlock on Saturday, the farmers unions announced that the Bharat Bandh call remained in force and it immediately started gathering steam with several political parties extending support to the cause. The normal life is likely to be hit on December 8 as the farmers now have support of several trade unions and political parties that are in power in many states. Banking and transport services are likely to be affected on December 8 as unions have already backed the strike.
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, have been agitating at five Delhi borders for the past 11 days. They want the Centre to repeal three laws it cleared during Parliament’s monsoon session, saying they would allow big corporations to exploit them. The government, however, maintains that the new reform agenda will lead to better crop prices and higher investments in the farm sector.
Among the parties supporting the bandh call were the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress, Telengana Rashtra Samithi, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Left parties and several other regional parties. Apart from the political parties, a joint forum of trade unions including Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC) and Trade Union Co-ordination Centre (TUCC), is supporting the bandh.
Among the bank unions, Officer unions All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA) and Indian National Bank Officers’ Congress (INBOC) have supported the farmers.
While speaking to the media at the party headquarters, the Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera asked the government why the laws were enacted in a hurry. “In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government in June surreptitiously brings ordinances. What was the hurry, the entire country was focussed on the fallout of Covid-19, the economic, social, health fallout? But the government was busy surreptitiously bringing ordinances to help its industrialist-corporate friends,” Khera said.
“Where was the need to bring these legislations so fast, you suspended the opposition parties from Parliament, you did not follow parliamentary procedure and hurried through the passing of the bills, why was the hurry,” he added.
Khera said the government would have sought suggestions from the farmers before introducing the legislation if it was really bothered about them. The Congress leader said the entire nation was witnessing the plight of protesting farmers, who are camping outside at national capital borders during winter nights waiting for the government to listen to them.
The Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the AAP would support the strike and the party volunteers would join hands with farmers in peaceful protests across the country on that day. “It’s an appeal to citizens of India to support the farmers,” said Kejriwal, who is also the national convener of the AAP, in a tweet.
The support from the non-BJP parties came on a day when the union minister of state for agriculture Kailash Choudhary reiterated that the three laws were in favour of the farmers and were unlikely to be repealed as had been the demand by the farmers.
He added that if necessary, the government would make some amendments to the laws to take into account agitating farmers’ wishes. Farmers are protesting against the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
Choudhary alleged that the Congress party in particular and the opposition in general was responsible for allegedly misleading and instigating the farmers. “I think the Congress government in different states and also the party in opposition is trying to instigate farmers. The farmers are in favour of these laws but some political people are trying to add fuel to the fire,” Choudhary said.
Besides the political parties and the trade unions, several sportspersons, most of them from Punjab, have threatened to return their national awards to the government if the government did not concede the farmers’ demand. Boxer Vijender Singh said he would return his Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award if the government fails to repeal the “black laws”. “If the government does not withdraw the black laws, I will return my Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award,” Singh, who had joined Congress and contested the Lok Sabha elections last year, said.
Five former sportspersons from Punjab also joined the protest at Singhu border on Sunday. Arjuna awardees Rajbir Kaur and Gurmail Singh, who played hockey, former wrestler Kartar Singh, ex-boxer Jaipal Singh and Dhyan Chand Award winner Ajit Singh were among them.
“Many former players like Sajjan Singh Cheema who could not join us because of health or other issues have given their sports awards to us,” Kartar Singh, who is a Padma Shri and Arjuna awardee, said. “If are not allotted a time to meet the president, we will place our awards outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday,” Rajbir Kaur had said on Saturday.
Other former sportspersons who have also supported the agitating farmers are Dhyan Chand awardee and Olympian Gurmail Singh, Arjuna winner kabaddi player Hardeep Singh, and Arjuna awardee weightlifter Tara Singh. On Friday, former national boxing coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu, during whose tenure India won its maiden Olympic medal in the sport, Padma Shri boxer Kaur Singh and Arjuna awardee boxer Jaipal Singh too had announced that they would return their awards.