New Delhi, Feb 12 (UNI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday extended his full support to the nationwide strike by workers and farmers, calling it a critical protest against government policies and asking, “Will Modi ji listen now?”
Standing firmly with the issues of workers and farmers and their struggle, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition wrote on X,”Today, millions of workers and farmers across the country are on the streets, raising their voices for their rights. Workers fear that the four Labour Codes will weaken their rights. Farmers are apprehensive that trade agreements will strike a blow to their livelihood. And weakening or eliminating MGNREGA could snatch away the last support of the villages. When decisions were taken regarding their future, their voice was completely ignored.”
He added, “Will Modi ji listen now? Or is the ‘grip’ on him too strong?”
Gandhi reiterated his stance, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of buckling under pressure and compromising the country’s interests through the Indo-US trade deal, drawing a martial arts analogy in the Lok Sabha to claim that Washington had India’s government in a “choke.”
“America says we cannot buy oil from a particular country. This effectively means our energy security is being dictated externally — that energy itself is being weaponised against us,” the Leader of the Opposition said during his intervention in the budget discussion.
Opposition MPs are staging a protest against the anti-people clauses in the Indo-US trade deal and are expressing solidarity with farmers who have called for an All-India Bandh. The strike was called by ten Central Trade Unions (CTUs) and fully backed by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM). Over 10 trade and farmers’ unions are participating in the Bharat Bandh, which is expected to impact public banking, transport, and some government sectors. A joint platform of the ten central trade unions has claimed that around 30 crore workers are participating in the general strike across India. AITUC General Secretary Amarjeet Kaur said, “Not less than 30 crore workers will join the strike on February 12. During the July 9, 2025 protest, around 25 crore workers took part. The strike will impact operations in over 600 districts, up from 550 districts last year. This is a protest against the Centre’s ‘anti-worker, anti-farmer and pro-corporate policies.'”
The nationwide strike has reportedly been organised by a joint forum of 10 central trade unions, including INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF, and UTUC.
