Bharat Bandh live updates: No talks between govt & farmers on Wednesday, says farmer leader after meeting with Shah

Normal life remained unaffected in Meghalaya on Tuesday amid the 'Bharat Bandh' called by the farmers' unions against the Centre's farms laws. Shops and markets were open in the state and both private and public vehicles plied in the streets as usual. Governments offices, banks and post offices were open and attendance was normal, officials said.

When the bills were present in the parliament, the opposition had portrayed that government will stop MSP operation and shut the APMC mandis. The govt didn’t do it. In fact, the government assured that MSP operations will be improved further: Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani

Slamming the BJP government at the Centre for not listening to the voices of farmers, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat on Tuesday said that the Modi government doesn't understand the D of Democracy. Asserting that farmers of the country don't want reforms, Karat asked "who is the Central government bringing the reforms for?" "Democracy starts with the D and the Modi government does not even understand the D of democracy. This government does not understand the meaning of democracy. Whom are the reforms for when the farmers are saying they don't want this?" Karat said.

The Bharat bandh call given by farmers organisations evoked a mixed reaction in Rajasthan where mandis remained closed but several shops were open as usual on Tuesday morning. The bandh is supported by the ruling Congress party in the state. Transport Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas along with his supporters visited Civil Lines, Sodala, MI Road and other areas on a tractor and other vehicles in support of the bandh. "The impact is clearly visible in towns and villages. All the mandis in the state are closed and the bandh is going on peacefully," Kisan Mahapanchayat president Rampal Jat said.

Railway tracks, highways and roads across Bihar were teeming with supporters of the 'Bharat Bandh', which affected normal life in the state on Tuesday with the opposition parties extending support to the protest led by the farmers' unions against the Centre's farm laws. Police were deployed in large numbers across the state to ensure that the movement of essential goods and services remained unhindered. RJD supporters, and workers of Pappu Yadav's Jan Adhikar Party fanned out to various parts of Patna, forcing shopkeepers to down their shutters and deflating tyres of vehicles plying on the roads.

The agitating farmers on Tuesday continued to block the Delhi-Meerut highway near Ghazipur amid 'Bharat Bandh' called by farmers over the three Farm Laws. The agitating farmers, who have been camping at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh Ghazipur border for the last 10 days on Tuesday morning once again blocked the national highway that connects Delhi with Meerut via Ghaziabad. The farmers have, however, announced that the emergency vehicles like ambulance and the marriage ceremony vehicles will be allowed to pass. Amid the nationwide protest, farmers from several parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have been protesting at the Ghazipur border here.

Normal life remained largely unaffected in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday amid the nationwide shutdown, called by the agitating farmers' unions against the Centre's farm laws. Private cars and public transport were seen on the roads as usual. All the markets and business establishment remained open, while government and private offices, including banks, functioned normally. However, long-distance vehicles stayed off the roads, police said.

Babli has come to the Singhu border along with her two children, aged eight and twelve, to see a doctor at one of the medical camps attending to protesting farmers and others alike. "My elder daughter, Babita, has a cold and cough. The other, Sakshi, is very weak. My neighbour suggested that I come here," the 34-year-old resident of Kondli village said. Over the last few days, many from her village have come to the protest site seeking free medical advice.

In view of the 'Bharat Bandh' call given by the farmers, the security at the Delhi-Haryana's Singhu Border was beefed up on Tuesday with the deployment of additional forces of the Delhi Police, Rapid Action Force (RAF) and other security agencies. A morning briefing of the security personnel was carried out by one Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and one Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) rank officers. The layers of barricading have been tightened and extended in order to maintain the law-and-order situation of the national capital region.