Thousands part of farmer and farm worker unions, and trade unions, have gathered at the Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat at Ramlila Maidan, called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha.Delhi Kisan Mahapanchayat News Update: Farmer outfits under the umbrella of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) are participating in “Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat” at Ramlila Maidan to press the Centre to accept their demands, including a law on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops. The Delhi Police has issued restrictions, such as allowing only 5,000 protestors, banning sticks or any other sharp weapons, following the issuance of a no-objection certificate. Meanwhile, the Delhi Traffic Police has imposed traffic restrictions in the national capital.
“Both Delhi Police and MCD have issued an NOC for holding the ‘mahapanchayat’,” Darshan Pal, member, national coordination committee, SKM, had told The Indian Express. Delhi Police will earmark a place for parking of buses that will be coming from various parts of the country for the “mahapanchayat”, said Darshan Pal.
What is the traffic advisory for today? Traffic movement will be restricted on Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Barakhamba Road, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Tolstoy Road, Jai Singh Road, Asaf Ali Road and Sansad Marg, among other key routes. The advisory added that traffic diversions might be imposed from 6 am also at Delhi Gate, Ajmeri Gate Chowk, Guru Nanak Chowk, Paharganj Chowk, Barakhamba and Tolstoy Road. Vehicles going towards ISBT or the New Delhi railway station should keep sufficient time at hand, it said.
Dwarka Expressway ahead of its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Gurugram, Thursday, March 7, 2024. (PTI)
Call for nationwide protest against BJP, at Kisan Mahapanchyat
With thousands of farmers and farm workers in attendance, a call for a “country-wide protest against the BJP” was made at the Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat held in Delhi Thursday. A resolution was also passed to observe March 23 as “save democracy from the threat of money and muscle power day” in all villages.
The gathering was organised at Ramlila Maidan, amid heavy police deployment, by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM).
Read more here
Haryana moves SC against HC order directing judicial inquiry into farmer's death
The Haryana government has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court order setting up a panel to probe farmer Shubhkaran Singh's death during a clash between protesting farmers and the state security personnel.
The state government filed the special leave petition in the top court on March 11 against the high court's decision.
The high court March 7 formed a panel headed by a former high court judge to inquire into the death of Shubhkaran Singh during a clash between protesting farmers and Haryana security personnel.
This is a date of double gift for the people of Delhi: PM Modi
After inaugurating the two additional corridors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, "Today, the foundation stone for the expansion of the Delhi Metro from Lajpat Nagar to Saket G- block and Indraprastha to Indralok Metro Project was laid here. This is a date of double gift for the people of Delhi. For this, I congratulate all of you very much."
Delhi Metro corridors | These are 2 corridors inaugurated by PM Modi today
Earlier the cabinet had approved Rs. 8399 crore for the project. One line will cover the 8 km stretch between Lajpat Nagar to Saket G-Block. It will connect the silver, magenta, pink and violet lines.
The other will cover the 12 km stretch between Inderlok and Indraprastha, extending the Green line and enhancing connectivity to Bahadurgarh in Haryana. It will also provide interchange with the Red, Yellow, Magenta, Violet, Blue and Airport lines.
Delhi Metro | PM Modi inaugurates 2 new corridors
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for two new Delhi Metro corridors today.
‘CAA dangerous for country’s security': Delhi CM Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Thursday said that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act rules, which were notified earlier this week, will take away jobs and resources from the poor citizens of India. Urging Home Minister Amit Shah to pay heed to his objections, Kejriwal said that the law was dangerous for the country’s security.
READ MORE
Kisan Mahapanchayat in Delhi: Traffic congestion at ITO, Delhi Gate, Daryaganj, on National Highway-24 near Sarai Kale Khan
Vehicular movement disruptions were witnessed in central Delhi and Sarai Kale Khan on Thursday in view of a farmers' "mahapanchayat" convened at the Ramlila Ground to protest against the Centre's policies.
Vehicles moved at a snail's pace, resulting in traffic congestion at ITO, Delhi Gate, Daryaganj and on National Highway-24 near Sarai Kale Khan, among other places.
Massive traffic snarls were witnessed at Sarai Kale Khan.
'If voted to power, INDIA alliance to be voice of farmers': Rahul Gandhi in Nashik rally
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed a farmers' rally at Chandwad in Maharashtra's Nashik district today along with NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, as part of the Congress' ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'.
He said the opposition INDIA alliance, if voted to power, will be the “voice of farmers” and frame policies to protect them, promising to exclude cultivators from GST and restructure crop insurance scheme.
'The door you are now opening is very dangerous': Kejriwal decries Centre over CAA
"The door that you are opening is very dangerous for the country and we can't even imagine the number of illegal immigrants who will now come to india. Today, even those who came before 2014, do not have rights. By giving them citizenship, you are making them eligible for government jobs. The illegal immigrants from Pakistan will now be given government jobs? They will get ration cards? Today, Delhi has around 72 lakh ration card holders. These fall short. We write to the Centre time and again to increase the number of ration card holders. The Centre does not do that but it is willing to give ration cards to the people coming from Pakistan," said Arvind Kejriwal.
'First create jobs for your own people': Kejriwal
Doubling down on his attack against the Centre and CAA, Kejriwal said, "Today, our governments are unable to provide jobs to the youth of the country. You want to bring people from Pakistan, Bangladesh and settle them in the country, how will you give them jobs. First create jobs for your own people. Who will give them houses, resources?"
'Home minister did not address a single issue I raised regarding CAA': Kejriwal
In his latest press conference, Kejirwal hit out at Amit Shah and said, "The CAA rules were notified 2-3 days ago by the Centre. I did a press conference yesterday to explain why CAA is dangerous for the country and why it should be withdrawn. The Home Minister Amit Shah spoke about what I said. In his while statement, he did not answer a single question regarding the issues I raised yesterday."
He added, "He only abuse me, called me corrupt. Forget me, I am not important. the country is important, its 140 crore people that are important. Let's talk about them."
'Another demand is for increase of wages under MGNREGA': Moga farmer Daljeet Singh
Daljeet Singh, a farmer from Moga said they arrived by road this morning and will leave soon after the programme.
"We are here to ask for a legal guarantee of MSP. Along with demands for farmers, a demand for workers is that wages under the MGNREGA be increased. The barricades that were put up to keep us out of Delhi last month were a bad move...we were there for so long at Singhu and Tikri earlier, and where have we caused any loss," he said.
Hindu Pakistani refugees protest outside Kejriwal's residence over CAA remarks
Hindu refugees from Pakistan stage protest outside Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's residence over his remarks on CAA.
Kejriwal on Wednesday accused the Centre of planning to give the rights of Indian citizens to illegal migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and demanded the withdrawal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. He also urged people to vote against the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls if the central government did not withdraw the Act.
“The entire country demands that the CAA should be withdrawn. We will not let them give our children’s rights to others under any circumstances…And if BJP does not agree…does not take it back…then express your anger by casting your vote against BJP in this election,” Kejriwal said.
Farmers raise slogans against Centre from Delhi's Ramlila Maidan
Farmers in large numbers gathered at the Ramlila Ground here on Thursday to take part in a "Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat" that has been convened to protest against the BJP-led Centre's policies regarding the farming sector.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer organisations that spearheaded a protest at Delhi's borders in 2020-21 against three agriculture laws that have since been repealed, has said a resolution will be passed at the "Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat" to "intensify the fight" against the Centre's policies.
The farmers raised slogans against the Centre at the protest venue.
Police have issued a traffic advisory for commuters to avoid the roads leading to central Delhi in view of the farmers' gathering. The number of paramilitary personnel deployed at Delhi's borders has also been increased as the farmers have been asked not to come to the capital with their tractor-trolleys, officials said.
The Delhi Police has given permission to the farmers to hold the event on the conditions that there would not be a gathering of more than 5,000 people, no tractor-trolleys and no march to the Ramlila Maidan. -- PTI
Explained | How Ramlila Maidan came to be a political protests theatre
Ramlila Maidan was formed by filling up a pond in the 1930s under the British government. For years, it has been the site of the Ramlila first started under Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, thus getting its name.
Vinayak Bharne, then professor of planning at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California, had written for The Indian Express in 2012 of the Ramlila Maidan, “It was here in June 1975 that Jayaprakash Narayan led his mammoth rally with over a lakh people protesting against Indira Gandhi’’s government. It was here, following the Emergency, that several anti-Congress opposition leaders hosted a rally to form the Janata Party. Ironically, the origins of this maidan could not have been more “non-democratic”. It was part of a cordon sanitaire, a typical planning gesture of new colonial cities, wherein a deliberate physical gap separated indigenous habitats from new ones for supposedly hygienic reasons.
Continue reading
Kejriwal moves Sessions Court against order summoning him over ED's complaint
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal moved the Sessions Court challenging the magistrate court order summoning him in the complaint moved by ED for not complying with the agency's summons.
What is the traffic advisory for today?
According to a statement issued by the Delhi Traffic Police, vehicular movement might be affected on Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Barakhamba Road, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Tolstoy Marg, Asaf Ali Road, Jai Singh Road, Swami Vivekananda Marg, Sansad Marg, Netaji Subhas Marg, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Minto Road, Ashoka Road, the Maharaja Ranjeet Singh flyover, Connaught Circus, Bhavbhuti Marg, DDU Marg and Chaman Lal Marg.
The advisory also said traffic might be diverted from Delhi Gate, Mir Dard Chowk, Ajmeri Gate Chowk, Guru Nanak Chowk, Kamla Market, Paharganj Chowk, the Jhandewalan roundabout, the Maharaja Ranjeet Singh flyover from Barakhamba Road to Guru Nanak Chowk, Barakhamba Road, Janpath Road, the KG Marg crossing and the GPO roundabout (Gol post office) from 6 am.
The traffic police has advised those going towards the ISBTs, railway stations or airport to plan their travel accordingly with sufficient time in hand.
Farmers' 'mahapanchayat' at Ramlila Ground: Police deployed in central Delhi
Due to a "Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat" convened by farmers at the Ramlila Maidan here on Thursday, the Delhi Police has beefed up security and deployed heavy force for checking vehicles, which might lead to traffic snarls in the central parts of the city, officials said.
Police have also issued a traffic advisory for commuters to avoid the roads leading to central Delhi. The number of paramilitary personnel deployed at Delhi's borders has also been increased as the farmers have been asked not to come to the capital with their tractor-trolleys, the officials said.
The Delhi Police has given permission to the farmers to hold the event on the conditions that there would not be a gathering of more than 5,000 people, no tractor-trolleys and no march to the Ramlila Maidan. --PTI
Protesters to gather at Ramlila Maidan; traffic police issues advisory
Farmer outfits under the umbrella of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) are all set to participate in “Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat” at Ramlila Maidan to press the Centre to accept their demands, including a law on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops. The Delhi Police has issued restrictions, such as allowing only 5,000 protestors, banning sticks or any other sharp weapons, following the issuance of a no-objection certificate. Meanwhile, the Delhi Traffic Police has imposed traffic restrictions in the national capital.