Bharat Bandh: Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal, Others Assert Support to Farmers' Protest

Others, including Navjot Singh Sidhu, Akhilesh Yadav, and Mayawati, have also expressed their support.

Members of Bhartiya Kisan Union Ugrahan block the railway tracks during farmers' Bharat Bandh at Dhablaan village near Patiala.

(Photo: PTI)

atingAs farmers observe Bharat Bandh on Monday, 27 September, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to register his support to the protest, and shared a Hindi verse:

"Kisanon ka ahinsak satyagraha aaj bhi akhand hai,

Lekin shoshan-kar sarkar ko ye nahi pasand hai,

Isliye aaj Bharat Band hai."

"Farmers' non-violent satyagraha is intact even today. But the exploitative government does not like this. Therefore, today, India is closed," reads the English translation of the verse.

Farmers across the nation observed a Bharat Bandh on Monday, as they continue to protest against the Union government's thee controversial agricultural laws. The bandh began at 6 am and continued till 4 pm.

Hundreds of farmers on Monday blocked major highways, including National Highway 1 that connects Delhi to parts of Haryana and Punjab, following a nationwide call by farmers' unions to demand the scrapping of the agricultural laws.

'High Time Farmers' Voice Is Heard': Punjab CM, Others Lend Support to Bharat Bandh

Earlier on Monday, the newly-instated Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi had also tweeted in support of the farmers' protest.

"I stand with farmers and appeal the Union government to repeal the three anti-farmer laws. Our farmers have been struggling for their rights since more than a year and it is high time that their voice is heard. I request the farmers to raise their voice in a peaceful manner," he had said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, stating his support to the farmers' cause, was quoted by news agency ANI as saying:

"All their demands are correct, and since the beginning, we have backed them. I appeal to the central government to listen to their demands as soon as possible so that they can go back home and start their work. Enough talks have been held with the agriculture minister, now he should just announce that we are listening to their demands."

A number of others, including Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav, and Swaraj India President Yogendra Yadav, also expressed their support to the cause of the farmers.