Rail Roko Andolan on 6th day: Protestors urge boycott of corporate products over farm laws

The 'Rail Roko Andolan' by Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee has entered the sixth day since the agitation began over the passage and implementation of the new farm laws. The Committee's General Secretary has said that they will announce a mass agitation across the nation from October 1.

"On Oct 1, we'll announce mass agitation together with others across the nation," Committee's General Secretary Gurucharan Singh Chabba said.

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'Stop refilling fuel from Reliance'

While speaking with ANI, members of the committee even urged the country's youth, actors and farmers to boycott products and services of the corporates. The committee members further asked the people to the stop refilling fuel from certain petrol pumps as a mark of protest against the new farm laws.

The 'rail roko' agitation had started on September 24 Thursday and was scheduled to end on September 26. On September 26, the committee had announced the extension of the protests till September 29. The committee started the agitation to protest the farm laws and movement of trains in the state continued to remain suspended in the wake of farmers'' stir. Farmers have been protesting on rails tracks at many places in the state since September 24. The call for the ''rail roko'' agitation was given by the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee and later, different farmers'' outfits had extended their support to it.

The opposition and the protestors are of the opinion that the new laws will affect the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism and the liberalisation of the farm sector might affect the earlier Mandi system and leave the farmers at the mercy of the private entities.

The Centre, in order to clear the misconception, has repeatedly assured that the new laws will not impact the MSP mechanism. Moreover, the Centre has asserted that the new laws do not remove the Mandi system, the laws will simply free the farmers from being compulsively dependent on the Mandis and middlemen which have been a long-standing issue due to corruption, leading to less revenue for the farmers. The new laws will allow the farmers to sell their produce outside of the Mandis without having to share the commission with the middlemen which will lead to more income for the farmers. However, the farmers would still have the option to sell in Mandis if they wish to follow the conventional system.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the people to not fall for the misleading propaganda. The prime minister also hit out at the Opposition for its attack on the government over the farm bills issue by saying that those who always 'lied' to farmers are now shooting from their shoulders' and misleading them for their own political benefit. PM Modi has urged the BJP ground level worker to reach out to farmers and apprise them about how the new laws will empower them in the future.

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