Bharat Bandh: Anna Hazare on fast to support farmers

Social activist Anna Hazare onTuesday sat on a day-long hunger strike to support agitatingfarmers who have called Bharat Bandh demanding repeal of theCentres agri laws.

Hazare also said the agitation should spread acrossthe country so that the government comes under pressure to actin the interests of cultivators.

In a recorded message, Hazare appreciated farmersprotests at the borders of Delhi saying no violence has takenplace in the last 10 days of the agitation.

“I appeal to the people of the country that theagitation which is going on in Delhi should spread across thecountry. The situation needs to created to create pressure onthe government, and to achieve this, farmers need to hitstreets. But no one should resort to violence,” said Hazarewho began his fast in Ralegan Siddhi village in Ahmednagardistrict of Maharashtra.

He said this was the “right time” for farmers to comeout on streets and get their issues resolved.

“I had backed this cause earlier also, and willcontinue to do so,” he said.

Hazare also expressed the need to grant autonomy tothe Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and toimplement the recommendations of the M S SwaminathanCommission.

The octogenarian warned of agitation if the governmentfails to grant autonomy to the CACP and implementrecommendations of the Swaminathan Commission.

“The government only gave assurances but neverfulfilled these demands,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)