Farm Bills: RJD leader Tej Pratap sits atop tractor driven by brother Tejashwi during protest in Patna

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday led a 'tractor march' on Patna roads in protest against the passage of the three agriculture Bills mired in controversies. During the protest in Bihar’s Patna, Tejashwi Yadav drove a tractor while his brother – Tej Pratap Yadav – sat atop it.

As part of the nationwide 'bandh' called by various political parties, Tejashwi said the 'black Bills' would "hold big consequences for the future of farmers. These proposed laws will paralyse the farmers as well as the entire agriculture sector in the country. The Bills were forcibly got passed by the central government in a bid to make the Indian farmers dependent on industrialists."

A procession of around 50 tractors followed the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader, with his party supporters shouting slogans against the NDA government over the Bills.

"My party strongly opposes the Bills and demands a rollback. The Modi government has put the agriculture sector in private hands, similar to the railways and civil aviation sectors, in a bid to benefit corporate friends funding the BJP," said Tejashwi, who is Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Assembly.

"Moreover, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, as is his habit, is again showing hostility. His party JD-U's spokesman has claimed that Minimum Support Price will be mentioned in the relevant Bill," the RJD leader.

Earlier,  the 'tractor march' began from Tejashwi Yadav's official residence located just behind Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's residence on Anne Marg.

The protesters, without following social distancing norms, were headed toward the Governor`s House when a posse of police briefly stopped them for security reasons. They were, however, allowed to proceed towards Bailey Road.

The procession was scheduled to take a round of the Income Tax roundabout, Dak Bungalow Chowk and return to the RJD office on Veerchand Patel Road.

Due to the movement of the convoy of tractors, normal traffic was badly hit in the state capital, especially the busy Bailey Road.

(With agency inputs)