India-US trade deal:Farmers hold protest march in Haryana's Pundri, Ambala, Kurukshetra

Farmers under the banner of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) staged a tractor march in Pundri in Kaithal district on Tuesday against the proposed India–US trade deal, and demanded cancellation of the deal.

A meeting of the union’s Pundri unit was held at the grain market under the chairmanship of district president Gurnam Singh Farl, in which hundreds of farmers participated. Youth state president Vikram Kasana attended the meeting as the chief guest.

After the meeting, the farmers led by Kasana and Farl took out a tractor march, which passed through the grain market, Brahmanand Chowk, and the bus stand before reaching the tehsil office, where the farmers burnt copies of the India-US trade agreement in protest.

Kasana said that a Kisan–Mazdoor Jan Kranti rally would be organised on March 23 at the grain market in Pipli, Kurukshetra, on the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. The armers, labourers and representatives of social and farmer organisations from across the state and the country were expected to participate in the rally, where the strategy for the next phase of the agitation would be announced.

Kasana alleged that the trade deal with the United States was a direct attack on the farmers and agricultural labourers in India.

Referring to statements by former US President Donald Trump and US officials, he claimed that India might allow American agricultural products to enter its markets at zero per cent tariff, which could threaten the livelihood of the Indian farmers.

He said the United States had a $1.3 billion agricultural trade deficit with India in 2024 and alleged that the proposed agreement was designed to benefit American farmers. “Earlier, attempts were made through the three farm laws to hand over agriculture to corporates. Now another conspiracy is being hatched to bring American products at zero tariff rate, which will ruin the Indian farmers,” he said.

District president Farl said the union was continuously raising farmers’ and labourers’ issues through peaceful and democratic protests. He said the organisation had been opposing the Centre’s alleged anti-farmer policies and warning about the potential adverse impact of the India–US free trade deal.

The protesters also raised issues such as alleged irregularities in paddy procurement, free education, electricity bills, free healthcare, loan waivers and a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), which they said would be major topics at the upcoming rally.

Kurukshetra: Farmers, under the banner of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni), held tractor marches in Ambala and Kurukshetra on Tuesday to protest against the India-US trade deal. Farmers’ leaders also appealed to the public to show up in large numbers for the ‘Kisan Mazdoor Janjagriti Rally’ on March 23 at the Pipli Grain Market in Kurukshetra.

Growers take out a tractor march in Ambala Cantonment on Tuesday.

BKU spokesman Rakesh Bains, who led the march in Shahabad, said, “The trade deal between India and the US will negatively impact the agricultural sector of the country. Besides farmers, traders, labourers and general public will also face the consequences of the wrong decisions. The Modi government is working for the corporate sector and it has opened the Indian markets for the US. The farmers of India can’t compete with the US. The Government of India should stay away from this trade deal, otherwise the farmers will be forced to take some strict decisions.”

“The farmers have been holding peaceful protests so far. The union has decided to hold a rally on March 23 at Pipli Grain Market to intensify the protest against the trade deal and raise farmers’ issues such as the need for the MSP legal guarantee. If our demands are not accepted, we will not just sit at the Delhi border, we will march towards the Parliament. The farmers are ready to make every sacrifice to protect the agriculture sector from the wrong policies of the government,” he added.

In Ambala, led by the union’s district president Malkit Singh, the farmers took out a tractor march and raised slogans against the trade deal. Malkit Singh said, “Answering the call of the union, tractor marches were organised in Haryana, Punjab and other states. We will oppose the trade deal at every stage to protect the farmers’ interests. The union has launched a campaign to make people aware of the ill-effects of the trade deal and encourage them to participate in the rally on March 23 so a strategy can be chalked out to send a message to the government.”