CHANDIGARH: Responding to a nationwide call by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), activists and supporters of the All India Kisan Khet Mazdoor Sangathan, Kisan Mazdoor Utthan Morcha, Kisan Sabha, and the Save Environment Committee staged protests across Punjab and Haryana on Monday. Demonstrators burned copies of the Seed Bill 2025 and the Electricity Amendment Bill 2025, demanding the immediate withdrawal of both proposed legislations.
Addressing the gatherings, farmer leaders said the Central Government’s recently circulated drafts of the two bills are “anti-farmer” and heavily favour domestic and foreign multinational corporations. They warned that placing seeds and electricity under private control would lead to arbitrary price hikes, further increasing the cost of cultivation and essential power usage for agricultural activities.
Protesters expressed concern that once the Electricity Amendment Bill 2025 becomes law, electricity generation and distribution would be handed over to private companies, resulting in steep tariffs. The bill, they said, prioritises guaranteed profits for private suppliers over the needs of ordinary consumers.
Leaders also criticised the government for proposing policies that boost corporate gains while failing to ensure minimum support prices for crops or provide a living wage for workers. They argued that the burden of rising electricity costs would ultimately fall on poor and working-class families.
