The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has extended their complete support for the farmer-led bandh (shutdown) called on December 8 across India. Telangana Chief Minister and TRS party chief K Chandrasekar Rao on Sunday appealed to his party cadre to actively take part in the nationwide bandh opposing the three Farm Acts passed by the Union government. The Chief Minister also appealed for public support to the farmer agitation to make the bandh a success.
In a statement to the media, KCR stated that all farmers in the country were against the agricultural laws passed by the Union government in September. Telangana had voted against the laws in Parliament as they were harmful to farmer interests, said KCR who asserted that the fight needs to continue till farm laws are repealed. The party had been quiet on the issue with local municipal polls being held on December 1. The poll results on December 4 were below the party’s expectations, which lost several wards to the BJP.
The announcement by the party also comes in the backdrop of KCR’s plans to stitch together a coalition of parties, without the BJP and the Indian National Congress on the national front.
Telangana had witnessed small scale protests against the union farm laws led by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), an umbrella organisation of farmer associations. Farmers in the state had sent several memorandums to the TRS government requesting for amendments that would negate the three union farm laws. However, farmer associations say that the state government is yet to respond.
Farmer associations said that the TRS government should look at how states such as Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh rejected the farm laws through amendments. Farmers are presently entering their sixth round of talks with the Union government scheduled for Wednesday. The Union government is expected to place a new proposal before the farmer associations.