The protest by farmers against the three contentious farm laws passed by the Narendra Modi government in September seems to be showing no signs of concluding soon.
Days after the Bharat Bandh call given them on December 8, the farmers’ unions have now decided to intensify their protests nationwide from December 14.
The farmers announced they will boycott Adani and Ambani projects, malls, toll plazas and other projects that provide revenue to the BJP on the day. On December 12, they plan to block the Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi-Agra highways.
The three farm bills, infamously dubbed as “anti-farmer” bill, include the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill; the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill.
The terms of their nationwide protest include:
• Boycott Jio products
• Protests at BJP’s district headquarters across the country on December 14
• Target Adani and Ambani projects, malls and toll plazas with protests and make them free for travellers
• Make all toll plazas free for everyone on December 12
• Protests in Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh on December 14 under the “Delhi Chalo” slogan to surround the national capital
• Farmers in other parts of the country, including south India and the northeast, will continue to protest after December 14
One of the protesting leaders added at a media conference: “If the government sends another proposal, we may consider it but for now we reject the terms entirely.”
Almost all opposition parties have shown their support to the protest. The Congress-led government in Punjab termed the legislation a “blatant attack” on the federal structure.
With nearly 250 million protesters, the issue has now reached international shores. Foreign media have even termed it the largest protest in human history.
