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Bharat Bandh tomorrow: Samyukt Kisan Morcha's call for February 12 amid protest over India-US trade deal
The protest, supported by 10 trade unions, aims to highlight concerns about adverse effects on Indian farmers after the recently signed India-US trade deal.
Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Wednesday called for a ‘Bharat Bandh’ on February 12 as a part of their ongoing campaign against the recently announced India-US trade deal.
The nationwide protest has reportedly been chalked out by a joint forum of 10 central trade unions, including INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF, and UTUC.
SKM governor Hannan Mollah said that he disagreed with the deal as he cited adverse repercussions for Indian farmers, accusing the BJP of “surrendering before the shrewdness of the US.”
“The agreement will be a betrayal against farmers...We are surrendering before the shrewdness of US. The government has surrendered. Piyush Goyal should resign. He betrayed Indian farmers. On this basis, we have started a campaign, from 4th February to 11th February, where SKM will go to farmers. On 12th, Bharat Bandh has been called over this,” news agency ANI quoted Mollah as saying. He added that the Indian produce will not be able to compete with the free flow of US imports in the market, and that “our farmers will be finished.”
Union minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday placed farmers at the government's defence of the India-US interim trade agreement, declaring the day would be "etched in golden letters" in India's economic history.
What is open and what is closed?
While the government has not made any official announcement regarding the bandh, schools and colleges in certain states, including Kerala, Karnataka, and Odisha, may be closed if local organisations support the strikes or there might be disruptions in transport services, CNBC reported.
Markets, banks and public transport services might also suffer a hit.
Emergency services including hospitals and ambulances are expected to function normally. People who have travel plans are urged to reach out to their respective airlines or the Indian Railway's IRCTC app to check their itineraries and plan accordingly, considering the possibilities of traffic congestions across several cities.
