Delhi under siege: Support swells for Bharat Bandh

New Delhi: The Congress, TRS, DMK and the AAP on Sunday joined other Opposition parties in extending support to the 'Bharat Bandh' on Tuesday called by farmer unions which have been protesting on Delhi's borders for the last 11 days demanding repeal of the Centre's new agri-marketing laws.

The Trinamool Congress, RJD and the Left parties, besides a joint platform of 10 central trade unions, had on Saturday backed the countrywide strike. Meanwhile, Actor Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam stated that it will take part in the ongoing farmers' protest.

Issuing a statement, the party said that a 10-member team will reach Delhi soon to join the farmers who have been camping at various borders of the national capital seeking repeal of three farm laws enacted in September.

NCP chief and former Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar warned the Centre that if the deadlock continues, the agitation will not be limited to Delhi and people from across the country will stand by the protesting farmers. The NCP chief is also scheduled to meet President Ram Nath Kovind on December 9 over the ongoing farmers' protest against agrarian laws.

The talks between the government and the representatives of farmer unions remained inconclusive on Saturday after the latter spurned the agriculture minister's offer to amend the farm laws and stuck to the maximalist position demanding a repeal of all three ordinances.

To resolve the stand-off, an option to convene a special Parliament session is being considered, a government source said. "It is not ruled out, but no decision has been taken," the source said. Both the sides have now agreed to meet again on December 9.

Farmers protesting on both sides of Delhi-Haryana border have asserted that they are self-sufficient in carrying on their agitation against the new farm laws, with some saying their NRI relatives have also extended support to sustain the momentum of the demonstration.

Drawn from several parts of Punjab, aggrieved farmers have converged on an unprecedented scale at Delhi's Singhu and Tikri borders, camping on roads and braving the cold at night to press for their demands.

The peasants have come to the protest site stocked up with fruits, vegetables and other household items, and local residents and volunteer groups, besides members of a gurudwara nearby Singhu Border have been offering supplies to replenish the stock.

Prominent opposition leaders including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, DMK chief M K Stalin and PAGD chairman Farooq Abdullah issued a joint statement on Sunday supporting the call for Bharat Bandh and pressed the Centre to meet the legitimate demands of the protesters.

The representatives of thousands of agitating farmers have said that the countrywide strike on Tuesday would be observed with full force.