AAP to hold peaceful demonstration in support of Bharat Bandh on December 8: Gopal Rai

NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party will hold a peaceful demonstration in the national capital on Tuesday in support of the 'Bharat Bandh' called by farmer unions protesting on Delhi's borders demanding the repeal of the Centre's new agri-marketing laws, said party leader and Delhi minister Gopal Rai. The party has extended its support to the 'Bharat Bandh' and Rai appealed to all citizens to extend their support to it.

"The AAP will hold a peaceful demonstration on December 8 in support of the Bharat Bandh called by the farmers at 11 am at the ITO crossing of Delhi," Rai was quoted as saying in a party statement.

He said, "Today the farmers of our country are in distress. I want to appeal all the citizens of India to support their demands and extend their support to the Bharat Bandh called by the farmers tomorrow. I want to appeal all to join this bandh peacefully and stand in solidarity with the farmers of our country."


Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that all AAP workers across the country will support the nationwide strike and appealed to all citizens to support the farmers.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various border points of Delhi against the new farm laws.

The three farm laws enacted in September have been projected by the government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.

However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and do away with the mandis, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates. The Centre has repeatedly asserted that these mechanisms will remain.