Police use water canon to disperse protesting Youth Congress workers over Farm Bills in Ambala

Follow us on

Rajya Sabha today passed two contentious farm bills, 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, which have triggered protests by farmers at several places, amid uproar by opposition members. Uproarious scenes were also witnessed in the Upper House when some opposition members led by the TMC climbed on to the chairman's podium as the government pushed for the passage of two contentious farm bills.

Various farmers' organisations staged protests against the bills over fear that they will no longer get paid at the Minimum Support Price (MSP). 

Stepping up their agitation against the farm bills, the Punjab Youth Congress, meanwhile, is also taking out a 'tractor rally' from Punjab to Delhi against the Centre's farm-related measures. The rally started from Mohali district in the morning and was moving on the national highway towards Ambala.

The Congress activists were going to Delhi through the Chandigarh-Delhi highway when they were stopped at the heavily barricaded entrance to Haryana by police. The situation at the Haryana-Punjab border turned tense as the protesters remained adamant to continue their march towards the national capital.

The Haryana Police denied permission to the Youth Congress workers, saying they would not allow the traffic movement on the national highway to be disrupted and also cited the coronavirus restrictions.

Thirty-one farmers' bodies in Punjab on Saturday had joined hands to make the September 25 "bandh" against the agriculture-related Bills introduced in Parliament by the Centre a success.

A call for a 'rail roko' agitation has already been given by the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee from September 24 to 26.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated all the farmers on the passage of farm bills in Parliament today. Calling it a "watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture", he assured that "system of MSP will remain" and "government procurement will continue".