Team News Riveting
Normal life was disrupted in several parts of the country on Tuesday as shops and commercial establishments remained closed while the transport was affected and protesters squatted on key roads and rail tracks in response to a ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by farmers
demanding a repeal of the new Agri laws.
The farmers termed their show of strength a success even as Union Home Minister Amit Shah late in the evening stepped in to call their leaders for talks, ahead of the sixth round of talks between Central ministers and farmer representatives on Wednesday.
“There is no midway. We will demand just a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ from Home Minister Amit Shah,” farmer leader Rudru Singh Mansa told reporters at the Singhu border where thousands of farmers have been protesting for the last 12 days. A delegation of 13
leaders met Shah.
The nationwide shutdown was observed in around 10,000 places in 25 states, claimed Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav.
Emergency services were exempted and banks, too, continued operations as the pan-India shutdown, backed by most opposition parties and trade unions, rolled out noisily but peacefully with its impact felt in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, the epicentre of the agitation besides states such as Odisha, Maharashtra, Bihar and Jharkhand.
The pandemic appeared to recede into the background as security was stepped up across the country, restive crowds demonstrated in some places and the numbers swelled at Delhi’s border points. Protesters also blocked railway tracks at several places in West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.
Over 50,000 government employees took mass casual leave in support of farmers, said Punjab Civil Secretariat Staff Association president Sukhchain Khaira.
