Bihar: Mahagathbandhan Protests in Assembly Premises Against Farm Laws, Rising Fuel Prices

Patna: On the first day of the budget session, the opposition Mahagathbandhan, which includes Left parties, staged a protest inside the Assembly premises on Friday against the three farm laws and expressed their support for protesting farmers. The protests also flayed the steep hike in petrol and diesel prices.

Minutes ahead of the formal start of the budget session,16 Left parties MLAs (12 of CPI-ML ,2 each of CPI (M) and CPI) staged a protest against farm laws and in solidarity with protesting farmers in the lawn outside the main building of the Assembly inside the premises.

They said they would also raise the issue of police inaction in connection with farmers, who were staging a peaceful sit-in protest against the farm laws and were injured after being attacked, abused and threatened in Muzaffarpur district early this week. Their posters and banners were torn and the dharna site was ransacked by an alleged group of sloganeering Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) members. There has been no arrest in the case so far.

Holding aloft hand-written placards, Left  MLAs shouted slogans against the three farm laws of the Bharatiya Janata party-led National Democratic Alliance government and expressed their support for the agitating farmers.

“We demanded that the Central government accept the demands of protesting farmers and repeal the farm laws,” said CPI (ML) MLA Mahbob Alam.

CPI (ML) leader said Left parties’ members along with other Opposition parties would raise issues of protesting farmers against farm laws in the Assembly during the budget session.

“We would strongly protest against farm laws and would demand a discussion through an adjournment motion,” Alam said.

CPI (M) MLA Satyendar Yadav said: “We will expose double talk of the NDA on farm laws and farmers' protest in the Assembly during the session and fight against farm laws inside the Assembly as well”.

CPI legislator Ram Ratan Singh said his party along with other Left parties and Opposition members will also put pressure for a discussion on protesting farmers.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, who is Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said that the NDA government in the state, led by Nitish Kumar, was “insensitive” toward the protesting.

Opposition members also wanted to pay a tribute to farmers martyred during protest against farm laws, but the ruling NDA was not ready for it.

Criticising the Bihar government, Tejashwi Yadav said it was discussed at an all-party meetings to put a proposal in the Assembly to pay tribute to about 260 farmers who died during the protests, but the ruling alliance was against it.

However, 74 RJD MLAs paid a silent tribute to farmers who died during the protest inside the premises of the Assembly.

“We have paid a silent tribute to farmers who died protesting against farm laws .We will raise this issue in the House,” RJD MLA Bhai Virendar said.

To protest against petrol and diesel price hikes, Congress MLA Shakeel Ahmad Khan reached the Assembly premises with an earthen stove and firewood. Another Congress MLA Partima Kumari to tried to light an earthen stove at the lawn to protest the frequent hike in cooking gas prices.

RJD MLA Mukesh Roshan reached the Assembly premises riding a bicycle to protest the rise of petrol and diesel prices that has badly hit the common people.

Former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samata Party is also conducting Kisan Chaupals to create awareness against the farm laws and has threatened to launch a state-wide farmer protests on the lines of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.