Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, who has been spearheading the agitation against the Centre's three new farm laws since November last year, on Monday tendered an apology to people as they faced problems due to the 10-hour long Bharat Bandh across the country to mark one year of the enactment of these laws by the Centre.
Tikait said that Bharat Bandh got unprecedented support across the country. “We apologise to people facing problems, but farmers have also been facing problems for the last 10 months. Farmers are making good arrangements to allow emergency vehicles to pass and also commuters are provided with refreshments such as water, tea and milk,” Tikait wrote on the microblogging site.
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The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, which has called the Bharat Bandh from 6am to 4pm, said that all government and private offices, educational and other institutions, shops, industries and commercial establishments etc will be closed and no events or functions will be organised. However, emergency and essential services including hospitals, pharmacies, ambulances, relief and rescue work and people attending to any personal emergency have been allowed during the strike.
Earlier in the day, the BKU spokesperson told news agency ANI that the farmers just want to send a message with this Bharat Bandh and nothing has been sealed. Tikait also appealed to the shopkeepers to keep their stores closed till 4pm and open only after that. So far, 11 rounds of talks have been held between the farmer unions and the Centre to arrive at a consensus on the three new farm laws. But the discussions have remained inconclusive.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier in the day, the BKU spokesperson told news agency ANI that the farmers just want to send a message with this Bharat Bandh and nothing has been sealed. Tikait also appealed to the shopkeepers to keep their stores closed till 4pm and open only after that. So far, 11 rounds of talks have been held between the farmer unions and the Centre to arrive at a consensus on the three new farm laws. But the discussions have remained inconclusive.
{{/usCountry}}The meetings between the above two parties have not resumed after widespread violence was seen during the farmers' tractor rally on Republic Day this year. The farmer unions have repeatedly said that these new laws will eliminate the mandi and the minimum support price (MSP) policy, and leave them at the mercy of big corporations.