E-Paper
Photos: ‘Rail Roko’ protests spearhead agricultural reform grievances
Farmers in Punjab have called a three-day ‘rail roko’ agitation against the passing of agricultural reform bills. On September 24, they set up camps on railway tracks to mark their protest while disrupting rail movement. Protests against the farm bills are erupting in other parts of the country as well. Farmers in Haryana have called for a ‘Bharat Bandh’ on September 25, while Bengal’s All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has also called for a mass protest on the same day. Congress Party too launched its nearly two-month-long mass movement on September 24 against the government for passing these bills which have been widely criticized by many as anti-farmer and anti-poor. Meanwhile, the three bills await President Ram Nath Kovind's approval for implementation in the agricultural sector.
Updated on: Sep 25, 2020 11:09 AM IST
Share via
Copy link
1/9
View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Sep 25, 2020 11:09 AM
Farmers occupy a railway track to answer Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee Punjab (KMSC)’s call for ‘Rail Roko’ agitation against the newly passed agriculture bills near Amritsar on September 24. Farmers have been protesting since May, when the central government had first proposed the reforms. Now with the passing of the bills in the Parliament, the protests have intensified not only in Punjab but across the country. (Sameer Sehgal / HT Photo)
2/9
View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Sep 25, 2020 11:09 AM
Lok Insaf Party workers are sprayed with water cannons by Haryana Police during a protest against the central government at the Punjab -Haryana border in Patiala on September 23. The Rajya Sabha has passed the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, during the monsoon session of the parliament. (Bharat Bhushan / HT Photo)
3/9
View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Sep 25, 2020 11:09 AM
Farmers raise their shawls and shout anti-government slogans to protest farm bills in Bengaluru on September 21. Farmers’ organizations are demanding amendments in the agriculture bills to provide a legal guarantee for minimum support prices (MSP), as they fear that private investments in agricultural sector will dismantle the MSP system. However, the Central government upholds that private investments will boost growth in the farming sector. (Aijaz Rahi / AP)
4/9
View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Sep 25, 2020 11:09 AM
Police officials detain a Delhi Pradesh Congress worker during a demonstration against agricultural reform bills in New Delhi on September 21. As both bills await the President’s assent, the Congress Party on September 24 launched its nearly two-month-long “mass movement” against the government for passing “anti-farmer and anti-poor” bills. The party’s decision to hit the streets came on September 21 during a meeting of general secretaries and in-charge of states at the party headquarters. (Arvind Yadav / HT Photo)
5/9
View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Sep 25, 2020 11:09 AM
Opposition parties stage a protest over the farm bills at Parliament House in New Delhi on September 23. The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 were passed through a voice vote amid opposition protests in Rajya Sabha on September 20. Opposition members alleged that their demand for a division of votes was rejected. (HT Photo)
6/9
View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Sep 25, 2020 11:09 AM
Ghulam Nabi Azad, Leader of Opposition meets the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on September 23. On behalf of 18 opposition parties, Azad met the President and told him that the passage of the farm bills in the Rajya Sabha was “unconstitutional” and that he should return the bills without signing them, HT reported. (courtesy Rashtrapati Bhavan)
7/9
View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Sep 25, 2020 11:09 AM
AAP workers protest against the Centre’s agriculture bills in Gurugram on September 24, 2020. “The three agriculture bills are anti-farmer in nature. Farmers across the country are protesting against them. The central government should roll back the law,” Delhi CM and AAP’s party chief Arvind Kejriwal tweeted at the start of Parliament’s monsoon session as he opposed the bill. (Parveen Kumar / HT Photo)
8/9
View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Sep 25, 2020 11:09 AM
Farmers wearing vegetable garlands attend a protest march against farm bills passed in the parliament in Kolkata on September 23. The All India Kisan Sabha(AIKS) has also called for a mass protest on September 25 in Bengal to condemn the violation of Parliamentary procedures and rights of the states and farmers in passing the bills without any debate or consultation, HT reported. (Rupak De Chowdhuri / Reuters)
9/9
View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Sep 25, 2020 11:09 AM
