Amravati, (Samajweekly) The Left and Congress parties’ leaders are participating in the Bharat Bandh (nationwide strike) called by farmers on Tuesday in Vijayawada.
Along with their cadres, a few leaders held their party flags while Congress supporters wore their tricolour ‘kanuvas’ (towels) as they demonstrated in front of the Vijayawada bus station.
“He has to take back all his corporate policies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is twisting everything and talking. Modi’s ways will not be allowed henceforth. It has reached a peak. His ways are for the benefit of corporates,” said a Left leader protesting in the city.
He said “Rs 62 lakh crore worth agriculture business has been handed over to big corporates at a time when farmers lost their income due to Coronavirus”.
Commenting on the alleged facility of enabling farmers to sell their wares anywhere, the protesting leader said farmers are not getting the same price in different states.
He cited the example of corn not fetching the price it got in Andhra Pradesh compared to Bihar.
“What price we are getting in Andhra Pradesh is not coming in the places where it has been privatised. His (Modi’s) arguments are aimed at covering his mistakes,” said the communist party leader.
Similarly, senior Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Ramakrishna demanded that these farms bills should be withdrawn in the coming days.
“These options of buying anywhere and selling anywhere is for the corporates to hoard and sell at any cost,” said Ramakrishna.
He alleged that Modi is working for the benefit of corporates.
“All over the country farmers and others are participating in the bandh. People from all walks of life are voluntarily extending support,” he said.
However, there is not much influence of the nationwide strike in villages near Bhimavaram in West Godavari district. All the shops are open for business in villages like Seesali, Kalla, Kallakuru, Doddanapudi Chinnapulleru and others.
All educational institutions will be shut in the southern state on Tuesday while APSRTC buses will not run till 1 p.m.
Similarly, government offices will open after 1 p.m.
On Monday, Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister Kurasala Kannababu said the state government will allow peaceful farmers’ protest.
He highlighted that several rounds of talks have already been held between the Centre and farmers’ unions on new agriculture bills and hoped that a solution could be found soon to allay farmers’ fears on minimum support price.
“Our party (YSRCP) believes that if the farmer prospers the state and nation will prosper and ours is a farmer-friendly government,” Kannababu added.
