Farm Bills: Farmers' stir success in Punjab, tepid elsewhere

Riding on tractors and marching on foot, farmers turned up in huge numbers in Punjab and Haryana to oppose the agriculture sector reforms initiated by the Modi government.

Farmers squatted on railway tracks and highways in the two states, considered the food bowl of the country, demanding a rollback of reforms termed “historic” by the Modi government that allow farmers to sell their produce beyond APMC limits and promote contract farming.

The Bharat Bandh call by a group of farmers’ organisations and supported by Opposition parties such as Congress, Left among others, received tepid response across other states, with sporadic protests at some towns and cities.

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra likened the Modi government to the ‘East India Company’ and backed farmers’ protests while senior party leaders addressed press conferences demanding rollback of the “so-called agri reforms”.

In Delhi, Bharat Kisan Union activists who rode tractors from western Uttar Pradesh villages, were stopped at the Delhi-Noida border, while others protested in Muzaffarnagar, Shamli and Baghpat.