Congress along with other opposition parties and farmers’ group, including Bhartiya Kisan Union(BKU), will hold nationwide protests against the two controversial farmers bills passed by the Rajya Sabha on Sunday from September 24.
Upping the ante and to garner the support against the bill, the party will also conduct a campaign to collect two crore signatures of farmers who ought to seek withdrawal of the disputable legislation.
The two contentious bills which have already been passed by the Rajya Sabha now require President Ramnath Kovind’s nod to become laws.
In a meeting held at Congress head quarters on Monday, AICC General Secretaries and in charges discussed the political unrest across the country and the upheaval created by the farm-related bills passed by the Parliament.
As per media reports, a resolution calling out at the three farm bills — the Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, — was also declared at the meeting. It was decided that a nationwide agitation on the issue will begin from September 24.
According to news agency PTI, the agitation will include district level protest marches to oppose the bills. “On October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri, we will observe ‘save farmers and farm labourers day’. We will hold rallies and marches in every state and district headquarters, asking for the immediate withdrawal of the farm bills,” Congress leader KC Venugopal was quoted by PTI.
This was the first in-person meeting of the Congress leaders ever since the pandemic hit the country. The meeting called on the directions of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was supervised by the members of special committee.
The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee will also organize a protest on that day with the support of 10 other trade unions, PTI said.
The Aam Aadmi Party will back a farmers’ strike which has been called by at least 30 farmers’ organisation in Punjab on September 24.
In Bengal the Left Front and associated parties will block roads and hold protest rallies to show solidarity with the farmers.
