A total bandh is being observed across Telangana, in response to a call given by 15 farmers’ organisation demanding that the Centre repeal three new farm legislation, with the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) taking a lead to make the protest successful.
All parties except the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), several farmers’ bodies, and scores of trade unions and employees associations are also supporting and participating in the bandh. All commercial establishments remained closed and the RTC buses remained in the depots with the ruling party itself asking them to operate only in the afternoon.
Although the farmers’ association have called for a bandh from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the protest began much earlier in Telangana with leaders of all parties, except the BJP, participating in the bandh, demonstrations, bike and tractor rallies to express solidarity with the farmers protesting outside Delhi for 13 days now. All key elected representatives of the TRS including its Ministers, MLAs, MLCs, MPs, Zilla Parishad Chairpersons and others took to streets and highways participating in the protest.
At Karimnagar bus station, there was a minor scuffle between activists of trade unions affiliated to the Congress and those of the TRS Karmika Vibhagam as the former were opposed to the participation in the demonstration by all parties. The police had to intervene to prevent escalation of the scuffle. Similar, incidents took place between the Congress and the TRS workers at several places across the State.
Speaking at the demonstration at Karimnagar, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) working president Ponnam Prabhakar termed the TRS’ support to farmers’ bandh as “shedding crocodile tears” and alleged that the State government had not implemented crop insurance, did not purchase maize and did not provide bonus to superfine varieties of paddy as promised.
At Sherilingampally in the city, a road user had a heated argument with the TRS legislator A. Gandhi as the latter questioned why bandh was being enforced early when it was scheduled from 11 a.m. The ruling party workers allegedly pushed the person away and the police sent him away.
The TRS ranks led by Ministers, legislators, MPs and other leaders staged protests on national and State highways and other main roads to register protest against the new farm legislations and blocked the movement of vehicular traffic.
On the other hand, BJP leaders have criticised the bandh as politically-motivated and an effort by parties to help brokers and their business interests causing loss to farmers. Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Aravind said the TRS had no moral right to participate in the protest as it had not allowed protests at Dharna Chowk.
