Farmers protest Narendra Modi's 'non-committal' stand on farm loan waivers, to go on strike on 8 and 9 January

New Delhi: The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) Tuesday called for ‘Gramin Bharat Bandh’ on January 8 and 9 to protest Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “non-committal” stand on farm loan waivers. In a two-day meeting, the Central Kisan Council has taken a resolution to call a two-day Gramin Bharat bandh on 8 and 9 January, 2019, Ashok Dhawale, AIKS president, said. [caption id=“attachment_5649631” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] The AIKS is a Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) affiliated farmers’ organisation. “The bandh is in protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s non-committal stand on farmers’ loan waiver issue and rural distress the country has been facing in the last four and half years of the BJP rule,” he said. Dhawale said the landlessness issue is another major problem in rural areas, and alleged that the Adivasis and Dalits have borne the brunt of the Modi government’s anti-farmer policy.  The AIKS’s Gramin Bharat bandh has been supported by the Bhumi Adhikar Sabha, an outfit demanding land for poor farmers for agricultural purposes. “Not only farm loan waiver, but the government also has to address the landlessness issue of poor farmers. BAS has supported our bandh call”, said Hannan Mollah, general secretary of AIKS.  Mollah said the AIKS was able to bring the farmers’ distress issue to the fore and all political parties have been realising the importance of the problem. On 8 and 9 January, 2019 several trade unions have also called for a general strike in the country to protest the Modi government’s alleged pro-corporate policies, he said. “In urban areas, trade unions will go for general strike and farmers across the country will observe Gramin Bharat bandh on 8 and 9 January next year”, Mollah added.