The Congress party and the Communist Party of IndiaMarxist (CPI-M) on Tuesday staged protests across Himachal Pradesh in support of farmers’ Bharat Bandh called to seek repeal of the Narendra Modi-led central government’s controversial farm laws.
The party workers of Congress and CPM staged protests at district and block headquarters across the state and blocked traffic at various locations.
However, no law and order situation was reported in Himachal and the protests concluded peacefully across the state.
After staging a protest in Shimla, State Congress chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore said there seemed to be mala fide intentions behind hasty passing of new farm laws by PM Modi government as neither opposition parties nor the farmers’ leaders were consulting after drafting the laws.
“Now the Central government is merely completing its formalities by holding discussions with farmers who were protesting on roads since the last 12 days. Congress supports and is behind farmers’ community in India and the party will not let the Modi government succeed in its plans of selling farmers’ rights at the hands of big businessmen,” he added.
Rathore added the party will support farmers in their decisive fight against such draconian laws and the Centre government should withdraw these legislations immediately to provide respite to the farming community.
CPM state secretariat member Sanjay Chauhan said the party was against the new farm laws and demanded that these should be withdrawn immediately.
“PM Modi led BJP government is implementing neo-liberal policies in the country and was handing over the agriculture sector to big corporate houses like Adani, Ambani and multinational agri-business companies,” he added.
Chauhan said these Acts will ruin the agriculture sector and famers and besides, endanger food security of the country.
“These laws will not only harm the agriculture and farmers of the country but also common man because the high prices will hurt them badly and the nation will be pushed to the brink of starvation,” he added.