With 500 bikes and cars, Punjab farmers protest India-US trade deal

Thousands of farmers took out a bike and car rally in India’s Punjab state on Monday, demanding that the federal government drop the proposed free trade deal with the US.

The deal they said would allow a flood of US agricultural imports into India, decimating the country’s small and marginal farms.

The rally saw participation from all 23 districts of Punjab and was aimed at pressing the government on long-pending demands that have been left unattended for years.

The parade comprised over 500 motorcycles, cars, and jeeps. During the rally, the Chandigarh and Mohali police enforced tight security, diverting traffic in several major areas. Some schools also declared a holiday as a precautionary measure.

‘Free Trade Deal will sink Indian farming’

Addressing the rally, BKU (Rajewal) President Balbir Singh Rajewal said, “Our single biggest demand today is the outright rejection of the proposed India-US Free Trade Agreement. If this deal goes through, India’s small and marginal farmers will simply not be able to compete with their heavily subsidised counterparts in America and other nations. Our agriculture dairy, poultry, and every allied sector will be decimated.”

Raising concerns over Punjab’s deteriorating water quality, state secretary Rajewal said, “Uranium, lead, and heavy metals are increasingly being detected in Punjab’s groundwater. If this is not addressed urgently, every household will soon have a cancer patient. As per a recent Indian Council of Medical Research report, Punjab is already losing 68 people to cancer every single day.”

‘Politicians busy with power games while farmers suffer’

State secretary of BKU Rajewal Parmdeep Singh Baidwan accused political parties of playing petty politics while ignoring the real issues confronting the people. He alleged that the proposed trade pact, land acquisition policies, and decisions concerning natural resources were all stacked against the farming community. “Make no mistake we will continue to resist these anti-farmer moves with all our might,” he added.

Following the rally, the farmers submitted two separate memorandums one addressed to the Prime Minister through the Punjab Governor on national-level demands, and another to the Punjab Chief Minister highlighting state-level issues, seeking immediate intervention on both fronts.

Later, police officers confirmed that traffic was restored to normalcy on both main and alternate routes as the rally progressed.