DW BUREAU / chandigarh Farmers in Punjab continued their 'rail roko' agitation for the fifth consecutive day on Monday and announced that the protest against the three farm bills passed by parliament recently will be extended till October 2. Farmers under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee have been squatting on rail tracks since September 24. The committee's president Satnam Singh Pannu said they have decided to intensify their protest against the Centre and the farmers will continue to block rail tracks at Tanda, Mukerian, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Ferozepur till October 2. The protesters raised slogans against the Union government and demanded rollback of the "anti-farmer" laws. Meanwhile, trains continued to remain suspended in Punjab in the wake of the farmers' stir. President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave assent to the three contentious bills -- the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020. Several Punjabi singers and actors such as Ammy Virk and Deep Sidhu held a protest here on Monday in solidarity with the farmers agitating against the new farm laws. Prominent among them who took part in the protest also included Kanwar Grewal, Ranjit Bawa and Resham Singh Anmol. They exhorted people to join hands in farmers' fight against the farm laws. "The time has come for artists and the youth to come together against the government to force it to withdraw the farm laws. Every section of the society is with farmers," said Bawa. Actor and singer Ammy Virk said, "Farmers are not going to benefit from these laws." He claimed that with these laws, the minimum support price system would come to an end. They also accused the Centre of not consulting farmers before drafting these legislations. They further claimed that big corporates would "exploit" farmers. Protesters were carrying black flags as a mark of protest against these Bills. President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave assent to the three contentious bills -- the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The Congress Monday asked states under its rule to enact legislations to bypass the three Central farm-related laws that have triggered protests by farmers in some parts of the country. The Congress is strongly opposed to the three Central legislations which were signed into laws by President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday. "Congress President has advised the Congress-ruled states to explore the possibilities to pass laws in their respective states under Article 254(2) of the Constitution which allows the state legislatures to pass a law to negate the Anti-Agriculture Central laws encroaching upon State's jurisdiction under the Constitution," the party said in a statement. Some states, especially the Congress-ruled Punjab, are witnessing protests by farmers against the new Central laws. "This (states passing laws negating Central legislations) would enable the states to bypass the unacceptable anti-farmers' provisions in the three draconian Agricultural law including the abolition of MSP and disruption of APMCs in Congress ruled states," the party said. (editor@dailyworld.in)