Mumbai: Farmers in Maharashtra have called for a state-wide bandh, excluding Mumbai, on Monday with the ruling BJP’s alliance partner Shiv Sena extending support to the strike call.
The farmers’ agitation which entered its fifth day has seen the prices of fruits and vegetation zoom due to the dwindling of supplies from key production centres like Nashik and Ahmednagar. The two areas have become nerve centres of the protests.
Farmers have been on war path since June 1 demanding waiver of farm loan and other concessions like lower power tariff.
A meeting of farmers' representatives from different parts of the state under the aegis of the Kisan Kranti Morcha (KKM), that is spearheading the agitation, was held at the agriculture produce market committee in Nashik on Sunday afternoon.
During the meeting several resolutions were passed and a decision to go ahead with the Maharashtra bandh (excluding Mumbai) was taken. The call for the bandh was given two days ago.
"The Kisan Kranti Morcha committee has given a call for 'Maharashtra bandh' tomorrow, excluding Mumbai," convener of the committee, Chandrakant Bankar, said on Sunday.
A farmer leader from Nashik said, "The call for Maharashtra bandh had already been given, but it was suspended after a delegation of farmers met the chief minister.
"Now, as the government tried to sabotage our stir, we have decided to go ahead with 'Maharashtra bandh' tomorrow (Monday). The decision was taken this afternoon after a meeting of farmers' leaders in Nashik."
As part of the bandh, the farmers' groups have decided to lock down the government offices, another farmer leader said.
Late on Sunday, the Shiv Sena extended its "full support" to the ongoing agitation, including the call for the 'Maharashtra bandh'.
"We have been vocal about our disappointment over the BJP government on the farmers’ issues as well as on the delay in announcing the loan waiver.
"Today, the party decided to participate in the 'Maharashtra bandh' agitation, which will exclude Mumbai. The agitation will take place in the rest of Maharashtra," Sena MP Sanjay Raut said.
According to one of the resolutions passed during the Nashik meeting, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should implement the farmers' demands "instead of just giving assurances".
Demand for withdrawal of cases registered against the farmers at different places across the state during the stir was also part of the resolution, Bankar said.
A core committee meeting of the KKM will be held in Mumbai on June 7 and a state-wide convention of farmers will be held in Nashik on June 8 to decide their future course of action, he added.
"Demands of farmers include a complete loan waiver, implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report and cancellation of the proposed Mumbai-Nagpur 'Samruddhi' expressway," Bankar said.
He appealed to the traders and transporters to join the ongoing protest by farmers.
(With PTI Inputs)
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