New Delhi: The main opposition parties in the country have issued a joint statement in support of Farmers protest on Tuesday’s Bharat-Bandh. The main opposition party congress, DMK, RJD, SP, TMC, TRS and Gupkar Declaration in J&K by all PDP, National Conference etc., and left outfits have issued a joint statement in support of protesting farmers bandh.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, the DMK’s MK Stalin, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party have all signed this statement. National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah (for J&K’s PAGD) and a number of Left parties – the Communist Party of India, the CPI(M), the CPI(ML), the All India Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party – also expressed support for the farmers.

On Sunday morning Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also tweeted in support of the farmers and the “Bharat bandh”, saying that all members of the ruling AAP would participate in the shutdown. Telangana’s ruling TRS will also back the bandh call, with Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao extending “total support” and urging farmers to continue protests till all three laws are repealed. Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress said it will extend “moral support” to farmers and stage sit-ins in various areas in the state for three days.

The Punjab, UP and Haryana farmers protesting against the center’s contentious new Farm laws. “We extend our solidarity with the ongoing massive struggle by Indian farmers… and support their call for a ‘Bharat bandh’ on December 8, demanding the withdrawal of retrograde agri-laws and the Electricity Amendment Bill”, the opposition leaders said in their statement.

“These new agri-laws passed in the Parliament in a brazen (and) anti-democratic manner (by) preventing a structured discussion and voting, threaten India’s food security, destroy Indian agriculture and our farmers, lay the basis for the abolishment of MSP and mortgage Indian agriculture and our markets to the caprices of multi-national agri-business corporates,” the statement said. The opposition parties called on the centre to adhere to well-established democratic processes and norms and meet “the legitimate demands of our farmers”.

Apart from political parties, the bandh has also been backed by a joint forum of trade unions, including the Indian National Trade Union Congress, the All India Trade Union Congress, and the Hind Mazdoor Sabha. A sixth round has been scheduled for Wednesday.