The Bharat bandh against the Agnipath recruitment scheme called by unnamed organisations on social media platforms disrupted normal life in some parts of the country on Monday. Road and rail traffic was disrupted for the fifth day due to the protests. Meanwhile, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella organisation of about 300 farmers’ organisations, decided to hold nationwide protests of farmers against the scheme on June 24.
Police and other authorities in several States had a tough time in controlling the mobs of protesters. Curbs, including a ban on gatherings, are on in several areas to stop vandalism. The Railways had to cancel 529 trains on Monday due to disruptions. “These included 181 mail/express trains and 348 passenger trains,” a statement said.
Delhi too witnessed massive traffic blocks due to the protests by the Opposition parties and organisations of youth and students. The Indian Youth Congress blocked a train at the Shivaji Bridge station and police removed 16 protesters to clear the tracks. The capital was under tight security of the Delhi Police. Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, Assam, West Bengal and Rajasthan also witnessed protests.
Authorities said the bandh call was given on social media though no group had owned it. “The police were on alert since Monday morning with elaborate arrangements made with vast deployment of the force,” Uttar Pradesh Additional Director General of Police (law and order) Prashant Kumar said. “There has been no impact of the bandh call anywhere in the State,” he claimed.
The Opposition continued to target the Centre over the scheme. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the intention of the BJP was to create its own private army. “The BJP is trying to create its armed cadre base through this scheme. What will they do after four years? The party wants to give arms in the hands of the youth,” she said in Kolkata.
SKM backs protests
The SKM has pledged support to the protests against the Agnipath scheme and decided to hold nationwide protests of farmers on June 24. A meeting of SKM leaders held in Karnal on Monday also decided to submit a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind urging him to ask the government to withdraw the scheme. The SKM said the Centre was playing with the future of the country, national security and the dreams of unemployed youth. “The jawan of this country is a uniformed farmer. Most of the soldiers are from farmer families. Army job is tied to the honour and economic strength of lakhs of farmer families. It is a matter of shame for the country that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who started his victory campaign by rallying ex-servicemen with the promise of ‘One Rank One Pension’, has now launched this scheme of ‘No Rank No Pension’,” the SKM said.
The next national meet of the SKM, scheduled for July 3 in Ghaziabad, will chart the future programmes in connection with the ongoing agitations, SKM leaders Hannan Mollah, Darshan Pal, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Shivkumar Sharma Kakkaji, Yudhveer Singh and Yogendra Yadav said in a release.
