'Bharat Bandh' from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, says BKU

New Delhi: 'Bharat Bandh' on December 8 would start at 11 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. as they don't want to cause inconvenience to the public, said Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU).

BKU spoke person Rakesh Tikait said that essential services would not be curtailed and office-goers can move freely during the bandh

Several political parties, including the Congress, Left parties, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Shiv Sena and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally - Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) have come out in support of the farmers call for a 'Bharat Bandh'.

On Monday, Shiv Sena said that the 'Bharat Bandh' called by farmers' groups, trade unions and major national political parties "is not a political bandh" but aimed at strengthening the voice of the farmers.

"Shiv Sena President and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has appealed to people to voluntarily participate in the shutdown tomorrow," said party's Chief Spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut.

"Farmers anywhere are farmers, not just of Punjab or Haryana. They need us now. As a country, we must support them in this hour," Raut declared.

He also pointed out how, when the entire country was in the lockdown for the past 10 months, it was the farmers who were working in their fields non-stop, and now for the last 12 days, they are sitting on Delhi borders, battling the chilling cold there.

Meanwhile Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, on Monday said that "the nationwide 'Bharat Bandh' called by farmers will have no impact in Goa," when asked about the preparations being undertaken by the state administration in view of the call for a nationwide strike.

Sawant added that the three laws were in the interest of the farmers and "will help the farmers get a better price for their produce".

The fifth round of talks between the Central government and farmer leaders on Saturday noon remained inconclusive as several farmer representatives said they demanded only the repeal of the three new Union Farm laws.

According to an IANS report, the government was agreeable to amendments to The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 while farmers are pushing for the scrapping of the "anti-farmer" laws.

(with inputs from IANS)