All the Grand Alliance constituents on Saturday organised a big human-chain across Bihar to show their solidarity towards the farmers’ movement.
The human-chain evoked a good response as lakhs of people gathered at various places from Karmanasa in the west to Kishanganj in the east and Rajauli in the south to Bagaha in the north.
Leaders and workers of Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress, CPI-ML, CPI, CPM and other farmers’ organisations took part in it.
Prominent among those present included Bihar unit president of the RJD, Jagdanand Singh and the party’s national general secretary Shyam Rajak, CPI-ML general secretary, Dipankar Bhattacharya and other Congress and Left leaders.
Dipankar Bhattacharya, while talking to a section of media, strongly criticised the three farm laws enacted by the Centre and termed it as against the interest of the farmers. He said that the Grand Alliance or Mahagathbandhan in Bihar has not come closer just for the election but it would continue to work together for the larger cause of the people.
Though opposition parties in Bihar have been supporting the farmers’ movement this is the first time that they jointly organised such a big show of strength and that too on the occasion of the martyrdom of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. The whole exercise lasted for half an hour between 12:30 and 1:00 PM.
Mind it Bihar is the state where Mahatma Gandhi first launched his movement for the cause of farmers in Champaran in 1917.
Ironically, the Nitish Kumar government was the first to abolish the APMCs way back in 2006. Experts hold this move responsible for the increase in migration as middle and small farmers were greatly affected by this move.
The BJP too is busy in mobilising the support of farmers to spread the message that farm laws are good for the farmers.
Curiously, the Janata Dal-United has not yet launched any movement in this regard.
