Bhubaneswar: Extending solidarity with the ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by farmers, labourer outfits and some political parties in the state including the Congress and the AAP, the state government Monday ordered closure of its offices across the state Tuesday.
All education institutions will continue to remain shut due to Covid-19. Besides, shops, commercial establishments, public transportation, auto service and railway services are likely to be affected by the bandh. The Federation of All Odisha Traders Association (FAOTA) will support the protest. “We are supporting the bandh and all shops in the state will remain closed tomorrow,” said Sudhakar Panda, general secretary of FAOTA.
Stating that his party will lend full support to the bandh, Congress’s state unit president Niranjan Patnaik said, “Except for the BJP and the BJD, all other parties and organisations in Odisha will support the farmers’ cause. We have instructed our workers in districts to observe the bandh peacefully. Apart from the district headquarters, the party will stage protests at all important places across the state.”
BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said, ”It is important to resolve all the issues of farmers and remove their apprehensions. The BJD is hopeful that the outstanding issues can be resolved through sincere dialogue and we look forward to the talks between the Union government and the farmer groups December 9.
BJD has always been demanding doubling of Minimum Support Prices as suggested by the Swaminathan Committee, he said, adding the party will continue to do so for the benefit of farmers. BJD has always stood for the interest of farmers.
Though the ruling party has not directly extended support to the bandh, it has indirectly supported the protest by closing down all state government offices. The BJP, on the other hand, said the Congress and Left parties have misled the farmers over the new farm laws which envisage benefiting the farming community.
“The farming community will benefit from the new farm laws. The farmers are convinced about the advantages of the new laws. Those who have not gone into the depth of the laws are spreading misinformation,” said BJP leader Pradeep Purohit. Meanwhile, the Odisha Public Service Commission and the Odisha Mining Corporation have postponed their examinations scheduled for December 8.
OPSC has postponed the Odisha Civil Services Mains examination to January 2, 2021 while the OMC postponed the online computer based test (CBT) for recruitment of various nonexecutive posts till further notice.