New Delhi: The Bharat Bandh called by farmers’ organisations against the farm laws evoked mixed to poor response in several states on Tuesday. Several Opposition parties had also extended support to the call for the farmers’ call for nationwide shutdown.
Except for Punjab, parts in Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Delhi and Haryana, the presence of farmers’ organisations on the roads to enforce the bandh was not largely noticeable.
In the Northeast, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, the bandh call evoked little or lukewarm response. The train services remained largely normal and efforts were made to quickly lift blockades at places where traffic was disrupted. Shops, business establishments, offices and airports remained functional.
In Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, the police took action in instances of forcible closure of shops by activists of political parties.
The bandh saw mixed response in Opposition-ruled states. In Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s call to observe the Bharat Bandh in a peaceful manner proved futile on Tuesday after Congress workers gheraoed and pelted stones at the state BJP headquarters in Jaipur, getting embroiled in a clash with the workers of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).
Terming the Congress workers as ‘goons’, state BJP president Satish Poonia tweeted tagging Gehlot, “Congress goons pelted stones at BJP state headquarters in the presence of police. What kind of bandh is this? What kind of protest is this? What is the reason for this and what is the fuss about?” He also asked the CM where is his democracy and good governance model? “This much pride is not good,” he said.
In Punjab, over 50,000 government employees have taken mass casual leave in support of farmers, said Punjab Civil Secretariat Staff Association president Sukhchain Khaira, PTI reported.
Major cities in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh, including its capital Raipur, wore a deserted look too with most business establishments closed and public transport keeping away.
In Patna, supporters of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) and the Left parties participated in a protest march on Tuesday. The Opposition parties’ supporters blocked the Dak Bungalow Chowk intersection leading to disruption of traffic.
Maharashtra too saw mixed response. In Matunga area of Mumbai, shops remained open and regular traffic movement was seen.
The farmers continued to block Delhi borders during their symbolic four-hour ‘chakka jam’ protest at Ghazipur-Ghaziabad (Delhi-UP) border as part of Bharat Bandh call.
Protesters blocked railway tracks at several places in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar and Odisha.
Although Delhi remained peaceful, tension spiralled after the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that Delhi Police had put Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal under house arrest ever since he returned from Singhu border. Delhi Police, however, refuted the claims, saying they were “baseless”.
In Delhi, most main markets remained open but app-based cabs and autos, except for a few, were off the roads. As for the Delhi Metro services, entry and exit gates of Pandit Shree Ram Sharma station on Green Line were closed.
Farmers are protesting in border areas of Delhi since November 26 against the three newly enacted laws – 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.
Leaders of farmer groups have held five rounds of talks with the government but all of them remained inconclusive so far. The next round of talks is scheduled to be held on Wednesday.
WITH AGENCY INPUTS