The Bharat bandh called by protesting farmer groups saw maximum response in Punjab and Haryana, where roads were blocked and markets remained closed on Tuesday. The shutdown, backed by most Opposition parties and trade unions, also had some impact in states like Odisha, Maharashtra and Bihar. Farmer unions had threatened to block national highways and occupy toll plazas across the country during a “chakka jam” protest from 11 am to 3 pm. Security was stepped up as protests were held in some places. Protesters also blocked railway tracks at several places in West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.
In Delhi, apart from Azadpur Mandi, most markets remained open There were reports of clashes between Congress and BJP workers in Jaipur, where mandis were closed but shops remained open In Maharashtra, wholesale markets in major cities like Pune, Nashik, Nagpur and Aurangabad were shut. Retail shops and Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) were closed in many parts of the state.
In West Bengal, where the ruling Trinamool Congress joined the Congress and the Left in supporting the shutdown but stayed away from enforcing it, the response was mixed. Railway tracks were blocked in several places and there were sit-ins on major roads.
Life was hit in Bihar too with train tracks, highways and inner roads teeming with protesters as Opposition parties extended their support. In Jehanabad, the movement of Patna-Palamu Express was obstructed for a few minutes until the bandh supporters, squatting on the tracks, were chased away by the police.
Train services were also affected in Odisha as activists of farmers' organisations, trade unions and political parties held sit-ins on tracks in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Bhadrak and Balasore. Elsewhere in the state, normal life was hit with markets and offices shut and Congress and Left supporters blocking major roads.
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Also Read | Bharat bandh has mixed response, most impact in Punjab, Haryana
Congress leader and former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on Thursday asked the Centre to accept the demands of the agitating farmers with immediate effect. "The farmers are fully alert and capable to protect their future, right and lands and the central government cannot confuse them with any vicious and undemocratic efforts," he tweeted. He said the central government should immediately accept all the demands of the farmers. Thousands of farmers are currently staying put at Delhi's borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in protest against the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
The farmers who have been agitating for the past two weeks against the new agri laws on Thursday announced that they will block railway tracks if their demands are not met by the government. A look into protest site at Singhu Border. Express Photo by Amit Mehra
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A key road connecting Noida and Delhi remained partially opened on Thursday even as farmers' protest against the new agriculture laws continued here for the 10th day. Scores of protestors belonging to Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhanu) stayed put at the Chilla border, while those of BKU (Lok Shakti) continued to camp at the Dalit Prerna Sthal. The protesting farmers belonging to various districts of western Uttar Pradesh had blocked the Noida-Delhi Link Road that passes through the Chilla border but opened one carriageway on Wednesday evening after talks with the local police. "One carriageway of the Noida-Delhi Link Road is open while the other is closed. People can come from Delhi to Noida using that route but not otherwise," a Noida Traffic Police official said.
The UK Foreign Office is closely following the protests by farmers in India, a government spokesperson said on Thursday as it clarified that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had "clearly misheard" a question in Parliament when he responded with Britain's stance on the India-Pakistan dispute instead. The gaffe occurred during the weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) session in the House of Commons on Wednesday, when Johnson reiterated that any dispute between India and Pakistan was for the two countries to settle bilaterally in response to a question by Opposition Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi about conveying British Sikh "anxieties" over the ongoing protests against agricultural reforms in India. A UK government spokesperson said: "The Prime Minister clearly misheard the question in Parliament. The Foreign Office are following the issue of protests in India closely".
Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh Thursday said that the three Farm Bills namely the Farmer’s Produced 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 are in larger interest of the farmers of our country and the Manipur Government strongly support the bills. According to Singh, any role back in reforms and development taken up by the Government would mean to support vested interest which, in future, would hinder other reforms too.
Singh further observed that fear of commission agents to lose their commission, rich farmers taking the opportunity to get a legal guarantee of lucrative Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their produce and the farmers’ misconception that the Government would scrap the MSP could be the reason for protest against the bills in some parts of the Country.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had repeatedly given assurance to the farmers that the Government had no plans to end the Government procurement system or the MSP policy. Fortunately, farmers of Manipur are in support of the three Farm Bills which were passed by the Parliament in September this year, he asserted.
The Chief Minister also stated the Government brought up the bills to benefit the farmers as they could directly take orders and make purchases with no commission agents and middle men. He also appealed to the farmer of the Country not to support the current agitation against the three bills. (Report by Jimmy Levion)
Farmer leaders at Singh Border said they will block railway tracks if their demands are not met.
"We'd given an ultimatum till Dec 10 that if PM doesn't listen to us & doesn't repeal laws, we'll block railway tracks. It was decided in today's meeting that all the people of India will take to the tracks," said Sanyukt Kisan Manch will fix a date & announce. (ANI)
"The entire country has witnessed that Swaminathan Commission report came in 2006, the recommendation about MSP at 1.5 times cost of production remained pending till Modi government implemented it," said Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
Tomar also clarified that the Centre has the right to make laws on trade. " During the talks, many said that farm laws are invalid as agriculture is State subject and Centre can't frame these laws. We clarified, we have the right to make laws on trade and explained it to them. APMC & MSP are not affected by it."
As the ongoing farmers's protest entered day 15, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, "We sent a proposal to farmers. Thet wanted that laws be repealed. We are of the stand that govt is ready for open-minded discussions on provisions they have an objection against. Laws don't affect APMCs or MSP. We tried to explain this to farmers."
Govt intend to liberate farmers through the new farm laws so that they could sell their produce anywhere, to anyone, at his own price, outside the purview of mandi, said Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar while addressing a presser
Haryana BKU President Gurnam Singh Chaduni at Singhu border.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar addresses press conference.
Haryana's Deputy Chief minister Dushyant Chautala on Thursday broke his silence on the ongoing farmers agitation. After hosting a lunch for the chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his cabinet colleagues at his residence in Chandigarh, Dushyant briefly spoke with the media persons and said that the union government has accepted farmers' demand of assuring MSP in writing. Talking about the farmers rejecting union government's proposal, Dushyant said, “That pertains to their [farmer unions] movement. Responding to media's queries on various JJP leaders talking in favour of farmers, Dushyant said, “I am also saying that I am a farmer first. When did I ever deny that? But, it is our responsibility for getting the farmer adequate price for his crop. Our government, even in the last procurement and this procurement, has ensured that each and every penny of farmer's produce goes into his bank account. Even Punjab has not been able to do so, till date. Rajasthan could not even begin the process. We are assuring that we shall procure the crop in future and also put entire money for it in the farmer's bank account. We hope that when MSP comes in writing, demands that are being raised by the farmers of other States shall also get fulfilled”.
Despite the farmer unions’ decision to keep their ongoing protest in Delhi against the farm laws “apolitical”, the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) plans to use this platform to demand the release of several accused booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for allegedly having links with Naxals, on Human Rights Day, to be observed Thursday.
Pictures of more than 20 accused, including Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, booked under the stringent UAPA, will be installed on a stage near the Tikri border. Many human rights groups are also expected to participate. Read Kamaldeep Singh Brar's report
The farmers' protest entered the 15th day today. Here are some pictures taken by Express photojournalists to show how the stir is playing out.
The call for ‘Delhi Chalo’ may have been given by farmer unions for November 26-27, the movement alive and kicking even now. On Wednesday, the NH-1 from Ludhiana till the Shambhu border was lined with tractor-trolleys, cars, mini tempos and even trucks. Banners with slogans like ‘Kisan Mazdoor Ekta Zindabaad’, ‘No Farmer No Food’, and flags of various farmer unions fluttered all the way till the Delhi border.
From bread pakora and tea to basic medicines, stalls line the highway. “Langars continue 24×7 as trolleys keep on passing. A number of people are coming back and others are replacing them,” said Avtar Singh, a resident of Jatana village of Doraha. Read Raakhi Jagga's report
Amid the deadlock between farmer unions and the central government, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar has called an unprecedented meeting of the state’s entire top brass, including Divisional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, Inspectors General of Police and Superintendents of Police, on December 17. All the officers have been instructed to be “physically present” in Chandigarh on that day.
The orders issued, Wednesday, has raised many eyebrows since these were issued a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah held talks with the farmer unions Tuesday.
A senior Haryana government officer told The Indian Express that “amid the ongoing tense atmosphere on Delhi’s borders and hardened stance adopted by the farmer unions, it is very tough for all the officers to leave their respective stations and be here in Chandigarh. But, an order is an order”. Read Varinder Bhatia's report
The ongoing farmers’ protest at Delhi borders has seen a swift rise in participation from Haryana with those not backing the protest being dubbed as "traitors" in the state’s villages. The "traitor" taunts are one among the many reasons that more from Haryana has come out in to back the stir. A farmer leader from Hisar, Suresh Koth, who is camping at Singhu border, said, "Almost 40 per cent of the total farmers at Singhu border are now from Haryana while the rest are from Punjab."
A farmer leader from Fatehabad, Mandeep Nathwan, who is camping at Tikri border since November 26, added, "At Tikri border, the number of farmers from Haryana and Punjab is almost equal but Haryana participation is likely to surpass Punjab numbers within a week." Read Sukhbir Siwach's report
Bharat Ramaswami, professor of economics at Ashoka University, writes: The uncomfortable truth is that while the new laws are not perfect, they represent a necessary direction for agricultural policy. Without developing new markets for the more dynamic lines of activity, agriculture, farmers and the economy will be stuck with a slow-moving cereal economy. This requires enabling policies and investments.
The BJP governs many states where it can demonstrate the power of liberating markets and literally allow a thousand flowers to bloom. That gives it the chance to disprove the narrative that these reforms are a corporate plot and provide concrete proof of the gains. Without doubt, economic success will melt opposition in Punjab as well. Read his opinion column here
Amid the harsh winter and the spike in complaints of fever and cold, families of several protesting farmers have joined them at Tikri border. Till date at least seven people taking part in the farmers’ protest have died — four of them in an accident and the others of natural causes such as cardiac arrest. Families of elderly farmers are now joining them from Punjab and Haryana, and some have set up camps to help protesters with food and beds. Read Jignasa Sinha's report
On Wednesday, a delegation of senior Opposition leaders, led by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja, met President Ram Nath Kovind and urged him to persuade the government to repeal the contentious laws. Here's a video from their press conference:
The arhtiyas, who are extending critical support to the ongoing farmers’ agitation, are often referred to as “bichauliya” or middlemen. But that is gross oversimplification. Commission agents play a complex and important role in the agri economy. There role also differs from state to state — which explains why Punjab-Haryana farmers are at the forefront of the ongoing protest. Read this explainer by Anju Agnihotri Chaba and Harish Damodaran
On October 13, the Number One item in the memorandum issued by protesting farmers was the demand for the repeal of the three Central farm laws passed in a controversial session of the Rajya Sabha on September 20. Today, December 9, after six rounds of talks, involving over 20 hours of deliberations, protests on the streets of Punjab, Haryana and the capital, farmer leaders were back to underlining the same item.
This lack of movement has hardened the divide and poses the main challenge as both sides work on their next steps, write Harikishan Sharma and Manraj Grewal Sharma. Read more here
Here's a recap of the events that transpired on Wednesday:
"We take decisions unanimously. It is about consensus and not majority," farmer leader Shiv Kumar Kakka said on Wednesday, explaining why the unions "completely" rejected the government proposal to amend the new agri laws.
He also said that there were no differences among farmer unions as was being reported by a section of the media. At the meeting of farmers' representatives on Wednesday afternoon, everybody agreed that the three new laws be scrapped and a specific law be enacted on the Minimum Support Price (MSP), he said.
"We take decisions unanimously. It is about consensus and not majority...it cannot be that some people are agreeing to it and others are not. If all unions say the laws should be scrapped, that's our decision...There is no question of having a personal opinion," Kakka said. "In all five meetings with the farmer unions, the government held marathon discussions on the same points (that figured in the proposal). Finally, we asked them (government) to answer in 'yes or no' whether they want to repeal the three new laws and guarantee MSP or not?" Kakka said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday seemed to confuse two separate issues when he reiterated the UK government’s stance that any dispute between India and Pakistan was for the two countries to settle bilaterally.
British Sikh Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, who has been leading a drive to keep the protests by the Indian farmers against the government’s agricultural reforms in the news in Britain, repeated one of his previous Twitter statements on the issue in the House of Commons during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) session.
ohnson, in his brief response, went on to address a completely unrelated matter instead.
“Our view is that of course we have serious concerns about what is happening between India and Pakistan but these are pre-eminently matters for those two governments to settle and I know that he appreciates that point," he said.
Haryana Congress president Kumari Selja and Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhay Singh Chautala on Wednesday met protesting farmers separately at Tikri border and said the entire country stands behind them against the Centre's new farm laws. Selja, who had on Monday met farmers near Singhu border, extended full support to their agitation.
Chautala, the lone INLD MLA in Haryana assembly, on Wednesday said he would be the first to resign if the farmers seek resignation of all elected representatives.
"If farmers' organisations say that all politicians elected to the Lok Sabha or the Vidhan Sabha with their help and votes should tender resignation and stand with them, Abhay will be the first to resign," he told reporters after meeting farmers. "If the central government's intent is clear, it should rollback the three black laws, which are like a death warrant for the farmers," he added.
Union minister Raosaheb Danve on Wednesday claimed that China and Pakistan were behind the ongoing protests by farmers, who are seeking repeal of three new farm laws.
He also alleged that Muslims were earlier misled over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), but as those efforts did not succeed, now farmers were being told that they will face losses due to the new laws.
Danve was speaking at the inauguration of a health centre at Kolte Takli in Badnapur taluka of Maharashtra's Jalna district. "The agitation that is going on is not that of farmers. China and Pakistan have a hand behind this. Muslims in this country were incited first. What was said (to them)? That NRC is coming, CAA is coming and Muslims will have to leave this country in six months. Did a single Muslim leave?
"Those efforts didn't succeed and now farmers are being told that they will face losses. This is the conspiracy of other countries," Danve said.
(PTI)
Tamil Nadu is the only non-BJP ruled state which has supported the three new farm laws, DMK MP and women's wing secretary M K Kanimozhi said on Wednesday.
Stating that the laws deprived farmers of their rights, she alleged that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palanisamy has betrayed the farmers by supporting the laws introduced by the BJP government at the Centre. While addressing the farmers in nearby Pollachi, the DMK
MP said the laws were opposed by Chief Ministers of states ruled by non-BJP parties.
Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma on Wednesday dubbed the farmers decision to reject the Centre's proposal to amend the new farm laws as "unfortunate". He urged the protesting farmers to review their decision. "It was unfortunate that farmer leaders have rejected the proposed amendments to the three agriculture bills," Sharma said in a statement here. He said the Centre has addressed all the major concerns about the minimum support price (MSP) and the mandi system in the proposed amendments which the farmers should accept with grace. "The respect for farmers had prompted the Centre to address the issues which affected the community, and in all fairness, the protestors should have accepted the offer," he said.
Addressing a press conference here, farmer leader Shiv Kumar Kakka said there was nothing new in the government's proposal, and that it was "completely rejected" by the 'Sanyukta Kisan Committee' in its meeting on Wednesday. Farmer union leaders termed the proposal an "insult" to the farmers of the country. They, however, said if the government sends a fresh proposal of talks, they may consider it.
The Uttarakhand BJP on Wednesday accused opposition parties of instigating farmers against the Centre for political gains and said the new agri laws were meant for the welfare of the farming community. Pradesh BJP president Bansidhar Bhagat said the MSP regime will continue, the monopoly of middlemen will come to an end and farmers will have the freedom of selling their produce in the market of their choice.
"Instead of farmers, it is the opposition parties that are agitating against the new farm laws. They are provoking farmers by spreading lies among them for their own political gains," Bhagat said. "Meant for the welfare of farmers, the new laws will revolutionise their economy," he said.
Bhagat said "no government in the past cared as much for farmers as the Narendra Modi government". Under the Modi government, he said, the budgetary allocation for the agriculture sector rose to 1.34 lakh crore from just Rs 12,000 crore during UPA.
Addressing a press conference, Farmer leader Shiv Kumar Kakka said protesting farmers might take a call on crossing Singhu border to enter Delhi in coming days. He also said that farmers will block Agra-Delhi Expressway on December 12 and no tax will be be paid on that day at any toll plaza in country. Further threatnening to intensify protests, he said that district headquarters in states will be gheraoed on December 14. (PTI)
A delegation of senior opposition leaders led by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday met President Ramnath Kovind. They have submitted a memorandum to the President asking to repeal agriculture laws. 'We informed the President that it is absolutely critical that these anti-farmer laws are taken back,' said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
'We have given a memorandum to the President. We are asking to repeal agriculture laws and electricity amendment bill that were passed in anti-democratic manner without proper discussions and consultations,' CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said.
Soon after farmers rejected draft proposal and threatened to intensify protests, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has reached Home Minister Amit Shah's residence.
Farmers have threatned to gherao BJP offices on December 14. They also said there will sitins across the country. The also said that they will boycott Reliance/Adani/Ambani establishments/products across the country.
Farmers have called the draft proposal sent by government "vague." The have threatned to intensify protests. "We said there's no point repeating what has already taken place. They conceded there have been mistakes. We insisted that all the three laws be repealed and assurance be given on MSP. The draft proposals are vague. We will block one road after another (roads leading to Delhi)," said farmer unions while addressing a presser.
Within hours of receiving union government's draft proposal to amend the new farm laws, farmer unions have rejected the proposal. A press conference is underway.
Sounding optimistic about an early resolution of farmer crisis, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday described the ongoing negotiations with farmer organisations as "work in progress" which hopefully is in the last stage. The Modi government, the minister said, is "sensitive" and has already held several rounds of talks with farmer organisations which are protesting against the three farm laws enacted by Parliament during the last session. "This (ongoing negotiations) is work in progress. Hopefully in the last stage. Let us wait for some more time," the minister said while replying to questions regarding farmers' protest.
* Written assurance that the existing Minimum Support Price(MSP) regime for procurement will continue.
* Registeration of the traders operating outside mandis and imposition of tax and cess as they used in APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) mandis on them.
*On concerns that farmers may be duped as anyone having just a pan card is allowed to trade outside APMC mandis, the government said to rule out such apprehensions, the state governments can be given the power to register such traders and make rules keeping in mind the local situation of farmers.
*On the issue of farmers not getting the right to appeal in civil courts for dispute resolution, the government said it is open to making an amendment to provide for an appeal in civil courts. Currently, the dispute resolution is at SDM level.
*On fears that big corporates will take over farmlands, the government said it has already been made clear in the laws, but still, for clarity's sake, it can be written that no buyer can take loans against farmland nor any such condition will be made to farmers.
A delegation of senior opposition leaders led by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja will meet President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday and seek his intervention to find a solution to the ongoing farmer protests.
The government has also assured to authorise states to register all pvt mandis and even levy cess like in case of APMCs to avoid exploitation of farmers.
Written assurance of MSP is one of the key points mentioned by the Union government in the proposal sent to farmer unions.
Farmer unions discuss government's draft proposal to amend three contentious farm laws.
The AAP on Wednesday alleged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's movement is still "restricted" and the main gate of his residence remains closed at the behest of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, a claim denied by the city police. Police sources said the chief minister left his residence around 11 am to attend a programme. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had on Tuesday alleged the Delhi Police put Kejriwal under house arrest after he met farmers protesting against the Centre's agriculture reform laws at the city's Singhu border. However, a senior Delhi Police officer dismissed the claim as "totally baseless". Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha said there is an atmosphere of "undeclared emergency" around the chief minister's residence.
"We are now going to hold discussions on the proposal sent by Government of India," Manjeet Singh, BKU State President, Doaba told news agency ANI
On Tuesday, farmer leaders said the government’s offer to send a proposal on the amendments indicated that it was not ready to repeal the laws.
In more symbolic support to the farmers’ protest on the fringes of Delhi, a senior agricultural scientist refused to accept an award from Union minister Sadanand Gowda in solidarity with the ongoing movement for the repeal of the contentious farm laws.
Dr. Varinderpal Singh, Principal Soil Chemist at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, went up on the dais at an event organised by the Fertilizers Association of India in the Capital on Monday, but refused to receive the award from the Union minister for chemicals and fertilizers.
The golden jubilee award was in recognition of the 48-year-old’s work in the field of plant nutrition. Singh stepped on the dais as his name was announced for the award, but handed copies of a letter he wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, instead, to the minister and Dr. Satish Chander, director, FAI, who was also on stage at the time. Singh then delivered a short speech, saying, “My conscience does not allow me to receive this award when our farmers are on the roads. Raising a slogan - ‘we support farmers’ – from the stage, he returned to his seat in the audience, turning down repeated requests by the organisers to accept the award.
"There is no rift. We remain united. So far we haven't received any proposal from the government. And we will not relent unless all the three laws are repealed," Rajinder Singh Deepsinghwala, Kirti Kisan Union vice-president said.
The AAP on Wednesday alleged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's movement is still "restricted" and the main gate of his residence remains closed at the behest of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, a claim denied by the city police. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha said there is an atmosphere of "undeclared emergency" around the chief minister's residence.
Police sources, however, said the chief minister left his residence around 11 am to attend a programme. A senior police officer said there is no restriction on any kind of movement of the chief minister.
According to Amitabh Kundu (Senior Fellow, World Resources Institute) and Harbir Singh Sidhu (a management consultant), who have written an opinion piece in The Indian Express, the flashpoint between the agitating farmers and the central government is essentially rooted in the mismatch between the supply and demand for the wheat crop in India.
“The genesis of the current state of affairs stems from policies initiated over half a century ago when India was critically short in foodgrains and had to rely upon imports under PL-480 as aid from the US,” they explain.
India set up a massive Public Distribution System (PDS) for supplying wheat (and later rice) to the urban consumers (and other vulnerable sections of the population in rural areas, at a later stage) by issuing ration cards that entitled them to a fixed quantum at controlled prices. To feed the PDS, potential surplus producing states (notably, Punjab and Haryana) were cordoned off from the rest of the country under a quasi-monopolistic buying by the central government through the Food Corporation of India (FCI) at a farmer remunerative price, labelled as the minimum support price (MSP).
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today accused the opposition of bankrupting the farmers. Calling the farm laws "revolutionary," Chouhan said, "Farmers are our God & doubling their income is the biggest resolution of PM Modi. Farm laws are a revolutionary step towards that. But political leaders who did nothing for farmers during their rule, who made the farmers bankrupt, are going to the President in their name. People rejected them, farmers pushed them away. They should apologise to the farmers, they are accountable for the poor state of farmers. People who have been rejected from everywhere are pretending to be the well-wishers of farmers. People have recognised their hypocrisy."
"Farmers are standing with the PM. I thank the farmers of MP who made the Bandh ineffective. Our govt is that of the farmers & poor, we will leave no stone unturned for farmers' welfare," he further added
Unlike in the past, BJP-dominated Pathankot also responded to the Bharat bandh call made by farmer unions on Tuesday.
Represented by BJP MP Sunny Deol, Pathankot had given a miss to the Punjab bandh call given by farmer unions on September 25. While it has so far been the least impacted by the farmer union’s campaign against the BJP government, a major part of Pathankot remained shut down on Tuesday. “We knew that slowly public of Pathankot will understand why farmers are protesting. It is true that we couldn’t get desired response to Punjab bandh call in September. But Bharat Bandh call has got very good response from Pathankot, which is considered to be the stronghold of BJP. It also means that government propaganda is failing and people are understanding that demands of farmers are genuine,” said Shiv Kumar, a farmer leader.
A rally was also held in Balmiki chowk of Pathankot city which was attended by Hind Kisan Sabha, Zamhoori Kisan Sabha, NRMU, Dairy Union, Dr Ambedkar Mission, Miri Piri organisation and Naujwan Ekta.
The government has cancelled its crucial sixth round of talks with 40 protesting farmers' unions that was scheduled on Wednesday as farm leaders declined to participate, after a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday night failed to break the deadlock. "Today's meeting with farmer unions' leaders has been cancelled," a Union Agriculture Ministry's spokesperson told PTI. There was no official confirmation whether the government has sent a written proposal to farmer unions on key amendments to some of the provisions of the three farm laws. (PTI)
In the midst of a global pandemic, it is unsurprising that India's farmers are worried about the impact of the recent agricultural reforms, a top American lawmaker has said, coming out in support of the agitating farmers who have been protesting against the new farm laws.
"As we know from our own experience in the US, citizens have every right to protest peaceably, be accommodated and their concerns listened to," Congressman Brad Sherman, Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, said on Tuesday. "The farmers yearning to be heard are another powerful example of how peaceful protest is just one of the many cherished democratic traditions binding our countries together," Sharman said.
Congressman-elect David G Valadao also supported Indian farmers. "As farmers peacefully make their voices heard, the Government of India has a responsibility to allow their citizens to exercise this right to assemble," Valadao said.
Shiromani Akali Dal workers provide free diesel at a petrol pump at Delhi-Amritsar national highway today, to farmers heading to Delhi to join the agitation. "We have started this to encourage more and more people of Punjab to join the agitation and further strengthen it. We are doing this with the help of the local youth and our NRI friends," a worker said, news agency ANI reported
Amid the Bharat Bandh call given by various farmer unions, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar had to cancel his scheduled programme in Padha village of Karnal district as a group of villagers vandalised the helipad area, uprooted tents pitched at the venue and also threw away the chairs and other furniture on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. According to district administration officials, Khattar was scheduled to inaugurate various projects for the area at about 3.30 pm, Tuesday. After the venue was vandailsed, the CM’s visit to the village was subsequently cancelled. However, Khattar reached Karnal in the evening and inaugurated “Smart Shiksha Pariyojna” at Government Girls Senior Secondary School on railway road in Karnal city under the Smart City project. The CM was scheduled to stay at Karnal city rest house for the night.
Reiterating that the farm laws were anti-farmer and were introduced without any discussion with the stakeholders, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said the unity showcased by the farmers through the Bharat Bandh had underscored the need for repeal of the laws, followed by a detailed discussion on agricultural reforms.
The CM asked why the Centre could not heed the demands of the farmers, agitating across the country, to scrap these laws and hold fresh talks with all stakeholders. “Had I been in their place I would not have taken a minute to accept my mistake and revoke the laws,” he said in a statement.
Asserting that the whole country was with the farmers in their pain and in their fight for survival, Amarinder said the Centre should allow the existing system to continue instead of scrapping the arhtiya and mandi system, as the farm laws were designed to do.
A 49-year-old man from Punjab who was participating in the protest at Tikri border died Monday night, with police saying the cause of death remains unclear as of now. He is the seventh person taking part in the protests against the three farm laws to have died over the last 10 days — four died in an accident and three of natural causes. According to Jhajjar police officials, the man has been identified as Mewa Singh from Punjab’s Moga district. “He was declared dead on arrival at Bahadurgarh General Hospital. The cause of death is unclear. His companions said he had a heart attack but this can only be confirmed after a post-mortem,” said DSP (Bahadurgarh) Pawan Kumar.