10 trade unions to support nation-wide farmers protest

New Delhi: As many as 10 central trade union on Monday announced their support to the nation-wide protest on September 25 by peasants and farm workers to oppose passage of two agri bills in Parliament, saying the BJP government should stop anti-farmers measures.

The joint platform of central trade unions and sectoral federations declares its support to the initiative of Joint Platform of Peasants and Agricultural Workers Organisations –the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee to hold countrywide protest and resistance on 25th September 2020, the central trade unions said in a joint statement.

"We also join them in protesting against the disastrous Electricity Amendment Bill 2020," the statement said.

The ten trade unions are NTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC.

Two key farm bills, dubbed as the biggest reform in agriculture by the government, were on Sunday passed by Rajya Sabha with voice vote.

The Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 have already been passed by Lok Sabha and will now go to the President for his assent before they are notified as laws.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has termed it as a "watershed moment" in the history of Indian agriculture, asserting that the bills will ensure a complete transformation of the farm sector and add impetus to the efforts to double the income of farmers.

The Congress and other opposition parties have slammed the bills as "death warrants" of farmers.