Tag: Agri Laws

  • Ghazipur border: Resolve grows stronger, farmers say movement not affected by January 26 incident

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Solidarity among farmers at the Ghazipur border protest site here showed no signs of waning on Saturday with their leaders reaffirming their resolve to carry on the long-drawn movement against the new farm laws.

    Days after BKU leader Rakesh Tikait’s emotional appeal had galvanised farmers from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to flock to the Delhi-UP border site, several farmers said, “the fight shall go on against all odds.”

    Tikait on Saturday addressed a huge crowd at the protest site, which has become a new focal point of the agitation after his teary-eyed speech when the number of farmers at Ghazipur border seemed to have thinned after the January 26 violent clashes.

    ALSO READ: Violence on Republic Day scripted by BJP to discredit farmers’ movement – AAP

    He reaffirmed the resolve of the farmers in this agitation, saying they have fought this battle for over two months now, and “they won’t relent or retreat”.

    A man from Amritsar offered water to Tikait on the dais, saying “The tears shed by Tikait ji were not just tears, they were tears of a farmer, from which solidarity has grown.”

    In various camps at Ghazipur border, farmers PTI spoke to still tremble at the mention of the infamous Red Fort incident of unfurling a religious flag from the ramparts of the national monument and the violent clashes that preceded.

    “Those people who did it, they are not our people. That faction had an ulterior motive, and what happened on January 26, seemed to be part of a plan by our detractors to defame and weaken our movement which has been going strong,” said 75-year-old D P Singh, member of the Central Kisan Committee of All India Kisan Sabha.

    ALSO READ: R-Day violence – Team of forensic experts visits Red Fort to collect evidence

    “Yes, we were emotionally hurt by the incident and all the aspersions cast on us after it, but that incident has not affected our movement, it has only grown stronger, with more solidarity coming from people,” he said.

    At Ghazipur , a multitude of green-and-white caps, symbolic of the unions fronting the battle, flags of unions and tricolours, planted on tractors, dot the highway.

    On various tractors and camps, photos of legendary leaders such as Chaudhary Charan Singh and Mahendra Singh Tikait, and slogans like ‘I Love Kheti’ and like ‘Garv se Kaho Kisan ke Putra ho’, seek to pump up energy among the farmers, whose enthusiasm had ebbed away a bit in the wake of Republic Day incident and fears of a crackdown by security forces on the night of January 28.

    However, the emotional outburst of Rakesh Tikait again galvanised people and many from parts of western Uttar Pradesh continued to stream in on Saturday too.

    Pankaj Pradhan, 52, head of Charaura village in Bulandshahr, who arrived in the afternoon along with seven other people to Ghazipur border protest site, became emotional, recalling the night of January 28.

    “We were all awake, watching Tikait ji crying, some were glued to TV sets, others on mobile phones, and we all felt restless. I was moved to tests too, and women too got emotional. But, his tears touched a chord with everyone, and made them connect stronger to the movement,” he said.

    Farmers also came from Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and other parts of Uttar Pradesh, many of whom addressed the crowd at the protest site.

    All of them alleged that “attempts were made to malign this movement” and “defame it”, but the agitation has “come out stronger”.

    Anil Chaudhary, who came from Bulandshahr too, rued what happened at Red Fort and in the streets of Delhi on January 26, and said, “it did hurt our morale”.

    “But, we feel stronger now, and Tikaitji’s tears brought me here. Every person in my village is touched by his emotional appeal. And, our solidarity will only grow from here, even though they may stack up odds against us,” he said.

  • Proposal to farmers on agri laws stands, says PM Modi at all-party meet

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  With the Opposition parties gearing up to corner the government on the controversial farm laws in the ongoing parliament session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reiterated the government’s proposal to stay the laws for 18 months. At an all-party meeting, the PM said the government’s stand was the same as it was on January 22, when the proposal to keep the laws in abeyance was made during the talks with the protesting farmers’ unions.

    BKU leader Rakesh Tikait addresses supportersand the media during a protest overCentre’sagriculture laws at Ghazipur border| PARVEEN NEGI“During the all-party meeting PM Narendra Modi assured that the government was approaching the farmers’ issue with an open mind. The PM said the agriculture minister’s proposal still stands,” parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi said. Modi stressed that the government had an open mind and was ready for a detailed discussion on the issue, adding the farmers could always approach the government as agriculture minister Narendra Tomar was just a phone call.

    The PM reaffirmed the importance of the smooth functioning of Parliament and comprehensive debates on the floor of the House. He said smaller parties suffered as a result of frequent disruptions as they do not get an opportunity to express themselves adequately and called on the bigger parties to ensure that Parliament functions smoothly.

    In the meeting, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Trinamool Congress’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut and Akali Dal member Balwinder Singh Bhunder also spoke at length on the agitation. Azad reportedly said in the meeting that the Congress had warned the government about the agitation and now the government has to deal with the consequences. Most opposition leaders were of the view that the government needs to discuss the laws again in both houses of parliament and also seek to address the misgivings of the agitating farmers.

    They also reportedly asked the government not to see them as enemies. The Opposition condemned the violence during the tractor rally on January 26 but also demanded an investigation into how “outside elements” had infiltrated the farmers’ movement. The farmers made similar allegations, blaming actor-activist Deep Sidhu for instigating the mob and planting a Sikh religious flag at the Red Fort.

    The meeting took place a day after opposition parties boycotted the President’s address to a joint sitting of parliament in order to express support to the protesting farmers. Joshi said the budget session would take up 38 items, including 33 Bills and five financial items. He said though it would be mainly devoted to financial business relating to the budget and a discussion on the motion of thanks among others.

    No internet at Singhu, Ghazipur till todayThe Centre temporarily suspended internet services at the Singhu, Ghazipur, and Tikri borders. The decision was taken to maintain public safety and avert public emergency. On January 26, there was large scale violence during the tractor rally.

    Now, Haryana books Tharoor & journalistsCongress MP Shashi Tharoor and six journalists were booked by the Haryana Police on charges of sedition for allegedly spreading disharmony during the clashes between the police and farmers on Republic Day in national capital. 

  • R-Day violence: Team of forensic experts visits Red Fort to collect evidence

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A team of forensic experts on Saturday visited the Red Fort to collect evidence in connection with the violence that broke out at the iconic monument on Republic Day.

    Thousands of protesting farmers had breached the monument on January 26 after deviating from their tractor rally route triggering a conflict with the police.

    The Crime Branch of Delhi Police is investigating the matter and several teams have been formed to identify the culprits.

    The force has termed the vandalisation at the fort as an “anti-national act”.

    “A team of forensic experts visited Red Fort and it is collecting evidence,” an official said.

    The protesting farmers had clashed with police during the tractor parade called by farmer unions to highlight their demand for repeal of the Centre’s three farm laws.

    Around 50 police personnel were injured.

    Many of the protesters, driving tractors, reached the Red Fort while some of them hoisted religious flags on its domes and the flagstaff at the ramparts, where the national flag is unfurled by the prime minister on Independence Day.

    On Friday, the Delhi Police had issued an appeal in leading newspapers asking people to share any evidence or information about the violence.

    “All members of the public, including media persons, who are witnesses to the incidents or have any information about the incident or have captured any activity on their mobile phones or camera, are hereby requested to come forward and give their statements/footage/picture in their possession at room number 215, second floor, Old Delhi Police Headquarters, ITO during office hours, on any working day or contact on 8750871237 or 011-23490094 or send e-mail on [email protected],” the appeal stated.

  • Farmers’ protest: Internet snapped at Delhi borders for two days

    By Online Desk
    The Ministry of Home Affairs has suspended internet services on a temporary basis at protest sites till 11 pm of January 31, official sources said on Saturday.

    Internet connectivity has been snapped at Singhu, Ghazipur, Tikri borders and adjoining areas.

    The decision for suspending internet services has been taken to “maintain public safety and averting public emergency” under Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules 2017, the official said.

    One of the leaders of the farmers’ protests underway in and around Delhi, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait said that the government feels “that if they weaken the movement, then it is their responsibility.”

    He added that the farmers’ movement will only become “greater” if the government tries to “crush” their voice. 

    गाजीपुर बॉर्डर पर इंटरनेट बंद कर दिया है सरकार ने , उन्हें लगता है कि इससे आंदोलन को वो कमजोर कर देंगे तो ये उनका वहम है । किसानों की आवाज़ को कुचलने के वो जितना प्रयास करेंगे ये आंदोलन उतना बड़ा होता जाएगा।
    — Rakesh Tikait (@rkeshtikait) January 30, 2021

    Hundreds of farmers have stayed put at the Ghazipur border on Saturday morning, with more supporters pouring in on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.

    The Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre’s new farm laws looked like it was going slim on Thursday but more protestors have joined the stir, following a mahapanchayat of farmers on Saturday in Muzaffarnagar, while supporters also poured in from Haryana and Rajasthan districts.

    ALSO READ | Farmers’ protest: Union leaders observe day-long fast on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary

    BKU’s Meerut Zone president Pawan Khatana, who is at the demonstration site with the BKU leader, told PTI, “This is not a political protest. Anybody who shares the ideology of the BKU and Rakesh Tikait are welcome here.

    But it is our appeal to those who do not wish to support the movement till the end that please do not come only to leave in between,” he said.

    The protest sites are covered by heavy security deployment, including personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), Rapid Action Force (RAF) in anti-riot gears and civil police.

    The protesting farmers expressed apprehension that these laws could be detrimental to the minimum support price (MSP) system, which makes them vulnerable to big corporations. 

    However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.

    (With inputs from PTI)

  • BKU supporters stay put at Ghazipur border, more supporters pouring in

    By PTI
    GHAZIABAD: Hundreds of farmers stayed put at the Ghazipur border on Saturday morning, as more supporters poured in at the protest site on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway here.

    The Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre’s new farm laws here looked like it was going slim on Thursday but more protestors have joined the stir, following a mahapanchayat of farmers on Saturday in Muzaffarnagar, while supporters also poured in from Haryana and Rajasthan districts.

    “The movement was and is strong,” BKU’s Meerut Zone president Pawan Khatana told PTI.

    Khatana, who is at the demonstration site with BKU leader Rakesh Tikait, said there has been continuous support for the “peaceful protest” against the farmers’ demand for removal of the new agri laws.

    “This is not a political protest. Anybody who shares the ideology of the BKU and Rakesh Tikait are welcome here.

    But it is our appeal to those who do not wish to support the movement till the end that please do not come only to leave in between,” he said.

    Asked about estimated crowd size at the site, the farmer leader from western Uttar Pradesh said, “Farmers are coming in to show solidarity and leaving.

    It is not a stagnant crowd.

    ” On Saturday night, the BKU office-bearers had estimated a crowd of around 10,000 people at Ghazipur while the Ghaziabad police officials pegged it around 5,000 to 6,000.

    Heavy security deployment, including personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), Rapid Action Force (RAF) in anti-riot gears and civil police, was made at the protest site.

    Meanwhile, the Delhi Traffic Police said to and fro movement on the National Highway 24 (Delhi-Meerut Expressway) has been closed.

    Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, demanding a rollback of 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 protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations.

    However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.

  • Farmers’ protest: Union leaders observe day-long fast on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Farmer leaders agitating against the Centre’s new agri laws are observing ‘Sadbhavana Diwas’ on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary on Saturday and holding a day-long fast at the various protest sites.

    Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar, a senior member of Samkyukt Kisan Morcha — an umbrella body of farmer unions — said the ongoing agitation will gain strength as farmers in large numbers will join them in coming days.

    During a press conference on Friday, the leaders slammed the ruling BJP at the Centre and accused it of trying to “destroy” their “peaceful” agitation.

    The farmer leaders claimed that the number of agitators at all the protest venues including Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri borders is swelling after the police allegedly tried to remove farmer leader Rakesh Tikait from Ghazipur border on Thursday night.

  • This government is full of lies and deceit, says protesting farmers at Ghazipur

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The slogan “Kisan Ekta Zindabad” reverberate through the atmosphere at Ghazipur farmers protest site on this cold January night on Thursday. “This has been a peaceful protest since day one and continues to be so. Those people who climbed into Red Fort on Republic Day were planted by the BJP government to defame our campaign. We are sitting here for around two months now, not just to go back empty-handed” said Kuldeep Singh Boprai farmer from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

    ALSO READ | Group of locals demands farmers vacate Singhu border protest site

    Amid “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” sloganeering every other protestor at the site is doing a Facebook live with friends and family. Many talk about family members and friends who have already started moving to Ghazipur protest site to support the agitation.

    #BharatiyaKisanUnion leader #RakeshTikait is appealing to protestors to maintain calm and continue to protest peacefully.#FarmersProtestsExpress Video pic.twitter.com/VLmTVptk8t
    — The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) January 28, 2021

    Rakesh Tikait, national spokesperson of Bhartiya Kisan Union, is resting at the back of the stage but comes to the front in intervals to addresses the protestors and thanks them for joining.

    “This government is full of lies and deceit, my payment for sugarcane is pending for a year and my debt is mounting. Farming anyways is not profitable anymore for small farmers and now they want to take away everything from us” said Gurudyal Singh from Lakhimpur who has been sitting at the stage holding the national flag along with flag of Kisan Ekta Morcha .

    ALSO READ | Will not be intimidated by Delhi Police notices, govt trying to end movement: Samyukta Kisan Morcha

    Distrust against the government is the reoccurring sentiment across the protest site, langar service of tea and snacks continues. Since the news broke out about police forcefully removing the protestors crowd around the main stage has increased. Every other protestors mildly probes the media persons or any new face amongst the crowd.

    “More people are coming some night reach tonight others in the morning so just maintain calm and continue the protest peacefully” said Tikait addressing the protestors.

    Police officers who have visited the site said that they have met Tikait to ask about his health only. Heavy police presence at the protest site remains.

  • AAP to boycott President’s address to joint sitting of parliament over farmers’ protest

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A day before the start of the Budget Session of Parliament, the AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Thursday said his party will boycott the president’s address to the joint sitting of both houses over the ongoing farmers’ protest.

    Singh said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) demands complete roll back of three agri laws.

    He alleged the “anti-farmer” legislations were aimed at benefiting a few industrialists.

    “The Aam Aadmi Party is opposing these anti-farmer laws from the very first day and our protest will continue.

    This is why it has decided to boycott the President’s address tomorrow at Parliament.

    “AAP Lok Sabha MP Bhagwant Mann and all the three Rajya Sabha MPs will not attend the President’s address tomorrow,” he said.

    ALSO READ: West Bengal assembly passes resolution demanding withdrawal of new farm laws

    While Bhagwant Mann is a member of the Lok Sabha, Sanjay Singh, N D Gupta and Sushil Gupta are the AAP’s Rajya Sabha MPs.

    Apart from the AAP, 16 opposition parties have also decided to boycott President Ram Nath Kovind’s address on Friday in solidarity with the farmers protesting the new farm laws.

    The 16 parties are the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, National Conference, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI, Indian Union Muslim League, RSP, Peoples Democratic Party, MDMK, Kerala Congress (M) and the All India United Democratic Front.

    These opposition parties have demanded an independent probe into the Centre’s role in the violence that shook the national capital during the farmers” tractor parade on Republic Day.

    They also demanded the repeal of the three farm laws and criticised the central government for remaining unresponsive to the demands of lakhs of farmers protesting against the agri laws.

  • Farmers’ protest comes to an end in UP’s Baghpat; protesters allege use of force by police

    By PTI
    BAGHPAT: A farmers’ protest against three farm laws of the Centre, which was continuing on a national highway in this Uttar Pradesh district since December 19 last year, has come to an end with the protesters alleging use of force by police.

    The police, however, claimed that the matter was resolved through deliberations and the protesting farmers were sent home on Wednesday night.

      The protesters have alleged that police personnel entered their tents late on Wednesday night, used force on the sleeping farmers and chased them away.

    Thamba Chaudhary, Brijpal Singh, Baljaur Singh Arya, Vikram Singh and other farmers who took part in the protest on Thursday said their agitation against the farm laws was going on on one side of the national highway.

    ALSO READ: West Bengal assembly passes resolution demanding withdrawal of new farm laws

    Late on Wednesday night, a large number of police personnel entered their tents, resorted to lathicharge on the sleeping farmers and chased them away, they told reporters.

    Charging the police with adopting repressive measures, they claimed that their tents were uprooted.

    About 40 farmers were present at the spot at that time, they said.

    WATCH

    Refuting the charges, Circle Officer Alok Singh said the protest ended after deliberations with the farmers and the police did not resort to lathicharge on the protesters.

    Whatever happened was in agreement with those present there, he said, adding that the protesting farmers returned home peacefully.

    Meanwhile, ADM Amit Kumar Singh said the Project Director of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Sanjay Misra, had written a letter complaining that work on the Delhi-Saharanpur highway was being hampered because of some anarchic elements.

    Acting on the letter, the protesters were removed from the national highway and sent home, the ADM said.

    The protest was launched on the national highway at Badaut on December 19 last year.

  • Rahul Gandhi continues to attack Centre on agri legislations, claims ryots not aware of details

    By PTI
    KALPETTA: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday continued to attack the Centre over the three farm laws and claimed most farmers were not aware of details of the bills and if they did, there would have been an agitation throughout the country.

    Referring to the contentious central farm laws, he said it was the “latest deadly assault” on the farmers.

    A day after violence during the farmers’ tractor rally in Delhi, Gandhi had appealed to the Narendra Modi government on Wednesday to repeal, what he claimed were, “anti-agriculture” laws.

    “Most of the farmers are not aware of the details of the farm bills. Because if they did, there would have been an agitation throughout the country,” he said, addressing a UDF convention on Thursday at Kalpetta in Wayanad, his Lok Sabha constituency, on the second day of his two-day visit to poll- bound Kerala.

    ALSO READ | Tractor parade violence: Delhi Police issues notices to 20 farmer leaders

    He also alleged that while the BJP government at the Centre was “aggressively” using its central agencies-CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED)-against opposition party ruled governments, there was no such pressure on left ruled Kerala where the assembly polls are only months away.

    “In every opposition party ruled states, CBI and ED are used aggressively by the BJP. There is no such thing in Kerala.

    There is no such pressure on the Kerala government. CBI and ED are very relaxed on the cases here,” Gandhi said.

    “You go through newspaper reports. Does the BJP attack the Congress more or the CPI(M)? Does the Prime Minister attack the Chief Minister of Kerala or does he attack the leadershipof the Congress party?” he asked, apparently suggesting that the saffron party was going soft on the left front in the southern state.

    Continuing to target the Centre over the farm laws,Gandhi alleged the basic idea was to hand over the agricultural system of the country to three or four businessmen.

    “Five to 10 people are “stealing” every single farmer’s produce.

    They are stealing from every single worker, they are stealing from every single worker in the mandis and stealing from every truck driver who takes wheat from the mandis and the Prime Minister of India is organising the robbery,” he alleged.

    “This is not just a crime against farmers, but crime against India,” Gandhi said.

    Gandhi also said if the Congress-led UDF comes to power in Kerala, a medical college, along pending demand of his Wayanad constituency, would become a reality.

    “The state government is going slow on this demand,” he claimed.

    Later after inaugurating a spice kit distribution to SC farmers at Ambalavayal, organised by RARS, Kerala agriculture university, Gandhi said his endeavour was to make Wayanad synonymouswith spices and he had written to the Centre to set up a spice park in the district.