Bharat bandh today: Farmers are seeking guaranteed crop prices, renewing a movement that succeeded in getting three laws repealed in 2021.
Tens of thousands of farmers across the country are protesting for guaranteed crop prices, renewing a movement that succeeded in getting the Centre’s three contentious agricultural laws repealed in 2021. The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), which is part of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), has called for a Gramin Bharat Bandh on Friday, February 16, citing a host of unmet demands of farmers.
BKU leader Pawan Khatana said during the “Bharat bandh” called by his union, farmers had been asked to suspend work for a day to press the government for demands. “Farmers have been asked to shun work in farms, or not to go to markets for any purchases. Traders and transporters have also been exhorted to join the strike,” Pawan Khatana said.
Bharat bandh: Why are farmers protesting?
The farmers, who rode on tractors and trucks from Haryana and Punjab, said the Centre has failed to meet some of their key demands from the previous protests. In 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi repealed a set of agricultural laws that the protesting farmers said would hurt their incomes.
But farmers’ unions now claimed that the government hasn’t made progress on other important demands such as guaranteed crop prices, a doubling of farmers’ income and loan waivers. The demand for legislation that will guarantee minimum prices is at the heart of their protests.
