At the initiative of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, leaders of 24 political parties will be meeting President Ramnath Kovind on Wednesday to explain why the government should roll back the disputed laws and then sit with the farmers to work out a new set of laws.
Meanwhile, in Maharashtra, the bandh received moderate response and passed off peacefully, with the participation of farmers' organisations and ministers from the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The Shiv Sena had already clarified that the bandh on Tuesday was not a political one and had sought voluntary participation to express solidarity and support to the agitating farmers in Delhi.
In Pune, Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Ahmednagar, Nagpur and other districts in the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions, the response was spontaneous. Farmers’ organisations took out marches while in some districts they organised sit-ins. NCP state chief Jayant Patil, the water resources minister, wore a black ribbon in protest while the party's national spokesman and Minister of Minority Affairs Nawab Malik participated in the agitation at Chembur. State Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat, who holds the revenue department, led his party’s agitation in south Mumbai. Minister of Ports Aslam Shaikh led a protest march in Malad-Malavani.
The Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sangharsh Samiti claimed that bandh was a great success, especially in rural Maharashtra. The All India Kisan Sabha state general secretary Dr Ajit Nawale said farmers joined on their own as they are strongly opposed to the three farm laws.
