News Analysis India

Tag: Agri Laws

  • Farm Laws: 50,000 Maharashtra farmers will march towards Raj Bhavan on Monday

    By Express News Service
    More than 50,000 farmers from various regions of Maharashtra will march towards the Raj Bhavan and submit its charter of demands to Governor Bhagat Singh Kosyari on January 25, Monday.

    Repealing the three laws, guaranteeing remunerative Minimum Support Price (MSP), procurement of farm crops as per MSP only, repealing all four labour laws and withdrawal of the Energy Bill are some of the demands included in the charter.

    ALSO READ | KRRS threatens roadblocks if permission denied for Bengaluru tractor rally on Republic Day

    “To support the ongoing protest in Delhi against farm laws, vehicle rallies are being carried out in several states. In Maharashtra, All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) had started its march for Mumbai. From Nashik alone, 20,000 farmers had joined the march and we are expecting 50,000 farmers will reach in Mumbai on January 25 from other parts of the state. Then, we will march towards Raj Bhavan and hand over a charter of demands to the governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari,” said Ashok Dhawale, president of AIKS.

    The various farmer organisations are participating in the protest under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM). The aim of this agitation is to intensify the farmers’ struggle in the capital cities across all states demanding repealing of the farm laws. The farmers also walked down seven kilometres up to Kasara Ghat and then by the vehicle they reached to Mumbai. The farmers offered food and other refreshments on their way by various social organisations.

    ALSO READ | Uttarakhand village bans entry for members, leaders of ‘anti-farmer’ BJP 

    The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Congress president Balasaheb Thorat and other Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders will participate in this farmers protest and address the mega farmers rally at Azad Maidan on January 25, Monday.

    Ajit Nawale, secretary of All India Kisan Sabha said that “The three farm laws of the centre are anti-farmer, anti-people and pro-corporate. The farmers at Delhi border have been protesting from last several days to repeal them. We want to show the solidarity with these farmers,” Nawale said adding the protest will culminate with a flag hoisting on January 26, Republic Day.

  • Enter at your own risk: Uttarakhand village bans entry for members, leaders of ‘anti-farmer’ BJP 

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: As farmers agitation continues against the newly framed farm laws, a village in Uttarakhand has banned the entry of Bhartiya Janta Party members, workers and leaders. 

    Posters, banners and hoardings have come up in Malpuri village of Udham Singh Nagar district warning the ‘Anti-Farmer’ BJP workers and leaders.  The banners further warn that if they venture into the village, none will be responsible for their ‘security’. 

    Suba Singh, former village pradhan said, “A total of 70 farmers have sacrificed their lives for the movement and the BJP led government is still adamant. We are not letting anyone from the BJP to enter our village. If the party doesn’t care for us we don’t care for them.”

    Paramjit Singh, another resident of the village said, “The people are angry and if the party leaders or members come to the village, they will have to face the inevitable. The only way forward is that the government moves back on the farm laws which are not good for the farmers.”

    The state BJP leaders were not available for the comment. 

    Farmers from the district have been actively supporting the Delhi-NCR protests. More than 20,000 farmers from the district have already joined others in Delhi at the protest site.

    More than 3,000 farmers from Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district will drive their tractors to Gazipur on the Delhi border on January 23 to participate in the kisan tractor parade on Republic Day in the national capital. 

    Earlier this month, farmers from the district of have started free bus service to ferry farmers to Delhi at the protest site. The service is available two days a week- Monday and Thursday. 

    The expenses of the service is being borne by local Gurudwara committees for now and the plan is to expand the service to 3-4 days soon. 

    In December 2020, Uttarakhand state police registered case against over 1000 farmers after they marched towards Delhi breaking the barricading by Udham Singh Nagar district police. 

    The police had tried to stop the farmers by force responding to which the farmers defied the ban and went ahead. 

    The case had been registered under sections 147 (Rioting), 148 (Rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 332 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty.), 353 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant.), 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease danger¬ous to life.) and under 51 b of Disaster Management Act 2005.

    The district with 42% of agricultural produce leads among 13 districts of Uttarakhand state in terms of agriculture and is also known as the food bowl of the state. With a variety of crops like rice, wheat, maize, barley, sugarcane and others the district produces enough to fulfill food requirements of the population of state of over 1.15 crore. 

    The ‘terai’ district is known for the cultivation of the crops like rice, wheat, sugarcane, maize and soybean and cropping pattern is an ideal way to spot the trend of the various crops grown across various parts of the district. 

  • More batches of farmers from Punjab head for Delhi to take part in R-Day tractor parade 

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: More batches of farmers from Punjab on Sunday set out for Delhi to participate in the proposed tractor parade on January 26.

    Farmer unions protesting the Centre’s three farm laws had said they would go ahead with their tractor parade in Delhi on Republic Day.

    They had announced to take out the tractor parade on the Outer Ring Road in Delhi.

    A batch of 500 tractors-trolleys left Amritsar and several groups of growers from Phagwara, Hoshiarpur and other places of Punjab moved towards the national capital to take part of the tractor parade, farmer leaders said.

    Kisan Sangharsh Union leader Baldev Singh Verka in Amritsar said, “Today as many as 500 more tractor trolleys left for Delhi to join the tractor parade.

    “Each tractor-trolley will carry 20 persons along with bedding and eating arrangement for fourteen hour-long journey to Delhi”.

    He said on Saturday, around seven hundred tractor trolleys had left for Delhi.

    Gurbachan Singh Chabba, spokesperson of the Kisan Sangarsh Committee said so far, around 12,000 tractor and trolleys had already left Amritsar and Tarn districts.

    ALSO READ: Over 300 Twitter handles generated from Pakistan to disrupt farmers’ tractor rally: Delhi Police

    While most of the tractor convoys from Doaba region had left for Delhi on Friday and Saturday, many left on Sunday also to take part in the tractor parade, said Satnam Singh Sahni, General Secretary Bharti Kisan Union (Doaba).

    Sahni, who returned here from Delhi’s Singhu border on Saturday night to further mobilize farmers for the parade, said a total of around 10,000 tractors from Doaba region would join the parade to highlight agitating farmers’ demands and the “stubborn” attitude of the central government towards them.

    “It will also be a show of strength by farmers and farm workers”, said Sahni.

    During the journey till Delhi borders, arrangements for ‘langar’ have been made at several places on the national highway, farmer leaders said.

    A sea of tractors could be seen on the highway as they carried the tricolour and flag of farmers’ unions.

    Thousands of farmers from Punjab and Haryana have been camping at Delhi’s borders for several weeks, demanding the repeal of the farm laws and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price for crops.

    They claim the new laws will weaken the MSP system.

    But the Centre says the MSP system will remain and the new laws only provide more options for farmers to sell their produce.

  • ‘Miscreants plotting to disrupt our peaceful tractor parade on R-Day’: Farmer leaders

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH: Farmer leaders have alleged that a plot has been hatched to disrupt their proposed tractor parade on Republic Day.

    They also said that a conspiracy has been plotted to kill four leaders, as they have caught a youth who was allegedly in police uniform and has confessed he was part of group who had been instructed to create disturbance during the tractor rally on January 26.

    The farmers have handed over the youth to Haryana Police. 

    On Friday night, the farmer leaders presented a masked youth, whose identity was not revealed, claimed that he and his ten accomplices were allegedly asked to be in police uniforms and baton charge the crowd during the proposed tractor rally on Republic Day.

    ​ALSO READ | ‘Murder plot’: Man handed over to Haryana police by farmer leaders being quizzed

    Farmer leader Kulwant Singh Sandhu alleged,”Attempts are being made by agencies to disrupt the farmers agitation against the farm laws. We have caught this person from the protest site at the Singhu border and he revealed an alleged plot to shoot four farmer leaders we cannot divulge the names of those leaders, as he showed us their photos on his mobile phone. Also he was tasked to cause disruption during farmers’ tractor march on January 26. We handed him over to the Haryana Police.”

    The youth who’s face was covered with a scarf claimed that a plan has been hatched to shoot four farmer leaders, who are ‘popular faces’.

    The youth said that he and a few other men and women were “working on behest of some people and a station house officer to carry out the attack on famrer leaders.”

    ​ALSO READ | Punjab arhtiyas to shut shops for three days from January 25 in support of farmers’ stir

    “The youth has told us that besides their group there are at least 50 to 60 of them who are now among the protesting farmers and at two places weapons have already reached and taking those weapons they were to fire,” said another farmer leader Jagjeet Singh Dallewal.

    The youth further alleged that his handlers will meet him in hotels and other places and had promised to give him Rs 10,000. 

    “We have been told by our handlers that the protestors were not good people and were our enemies,” he alleged.

    The youth also claimed that their team had also created disturbance in the Jat stir in 2016 and more recently they created disturbance at the Kisan Mahapanchyat of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Karnal.

    ​ALSO READ | Punjab, Haryana farmers to set out for tractor parade in Delhi on Saturday

    While Rakesh Tikait of Bhartiya Kisan Union said, “our agitation has been peaceful. It is now matter of investigation who will benefit from disturbing our agitation. We cannot guarantee whether this youth is speaking the truth or not.”

    Superintendent of Police of Sonipat Jashandeep Singh Randhawa said the story seemed to be unreal but the police is doing thorough investigation.

    Meanwhile, another police official said that the youth was 21-year-old and was contacted by an unknown person on January 19.

    Further investigation is underway.

  • Farmer union leaders claim getting threats over phone, social media

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH: Farmer unions have alleged that their leaders are receiving threatening and abusive calls. During the 11th round of talks with the government, they raised this issue and claimed that Krantikari Kisan Union president Darshan Pal and Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait had received threats over phone and on social media.

    “Yesterday (Thursday) night, Darshan Pal got a phone call from a person who abused him and told him that the farmers should accept the government’s proposal. The issue was raised at the meeting with the Union ministers today and the number from which the phone call was made was given to the Delhi Police so that they can trace the caller,” said a farmer leader. 

    ALSO READ | Farmers reject govenment proposal of suspending three farm laws, deadlock remains

    “On Friday morning, when farmer leader Ruldu Singh Mansa was leaving for the meeting with the government, a Delhi Police personnel allegedly smashed the rear windscreen of his car. This was also flagged during the meeting,” the farmer leader added.

    Sources said Tikait was allegedly indirectly threatened on social media that he could be in trouble when he goes back to UP. Tikait himself chose to underplay the matter and said, “These small things keep happening.” A senior Delhi Police officer, however, claimed,

    ALSO READ | Punjab, Haryana farmers to set out for tractor parade in Delhi on Saturday

    “The Republic Day security arrangements are tight in New Delhi area and police personnel are checking all the vehicles at every picket. When they stopped Mansa’s vehicle, he started yelling. He himself broke his windshield and started blaming the police. It’s just a stunt to get limelight and sympathy. They have also not filed any police complaint.”

  • Government shown shocking insensitivity on farmers’ issue: Sonia Gandhi

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday launched a fierce attack on the Centre over the farmers’ agitation and said the government has shown “shocking insensitivity and arrogance going through the charade of consultations”.

    Addressing a crucial meeting of the Congress Working Committee, she alleged that it was now abundantly clear that the three farm laws were prepared in haste and Parliament was consciously denied an opportunity to examine in any meaningful detail their implications and impacts.

    “The agitation of farmers continues and the government has shown shocking insensitivity and arrogance going through the charade of consultations,” she said.

    The crucial meeting, being held virtually, will also finalise the plan for organisational elections, including that of the next Congress president.

    ALSO READ: Government under misconception that only Punjab, Haryana farmers in battle against agri laws, says Soren

    Gandhi said the Congress position on the issue of the farm laws has been clear from the very beginning.

    “We reject them categorically because they will destroy the foundations of food security that are based on the three pillars of MSP, public procurement and PDS.”

    Discussing the budget session of Parliament, she said there are many pressing issues of public concern that need to be debated and discussed, but it remains to be seen whether the government will agree to a discussion.

    On the purported WhatsApp chat leaks of Arnab Goswami, she said, “There have been very disturbing reports on how national security has been so thoroughly compromised.”

    ALSO READ: Rejection of Modi government’s ‘lollipop’ on farm laws signals farmers’ awakening – Congress

    “The silence from the government’s side on what has been revealed has been deafening. Those who give certificates of patriotism and nationalism to others now stand totally exposed,” she said.

    Gandhi expressed the hope that the process of the COVID-19 vaccination drive will continue and be completed to the fullest extent.

    The government, she added, has inflicted untold suffering on the people of the country by the manner in which it has managed the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “It will take years for the scars to heal,” she alleged.

    The economic situation remains grim and large parts of the economy like MSME and the informal sector have been decimated with the government refusing to extend a lifeline, the Congress president said.

    “When public expenditure has to be carefully prioritized, it is very painful to find huge amounts of money being  allocated and spent on initiatives that can only be described as ‘personal vanity projects’,” she said.

    “Panic privatization has gripped the government and this is something that the Congress party can never accept and support,” Gandhi added.

    The Congress chief also asked the party office bearers to list the schedule and modalities for organizational elections that has to get the CWC’s approval.

  • The ‘Nays’ have it, government offer rejected

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH : The government’s hopes of ending the deadlock over the farm laws before Republic Day were dashed on Thursday with the farmers unions rejecting the proposal to suspend the laws for two years or more and forming a joint panel to examine the entire gamut of issues. 

    In a statement issued after two rounds of meetings, the first among the 32 Punjab unions followed by all the organisations under the Samyukt Kisan Morcha banner, the farmers said “the proposal put forth by the government yesterday was rejected.” 

    “A full repeal of (the) three central farm laws and enacting a legislation for remunerative MSP for all farmers were reiterated as the pending demands of the movement,” the morcha said.

    But sources said the decision was not unanimous, with some smaller unions, who were in a minority, in favour of accepting the Centre’s proposal but with several conditions, while the bigger ones, mainly from Punjab, firm on continuing with the agitation.  The sources said the majority view to reject the proposal was mainly two-fold.

    First, the protest was peaking and if they withdrew at this point, they may not be able to build up another movement in the future for a repeal of the laws in case the proposed committee rejects this demand. Second, 143 farmers had died during the agitation and if they were to accept the offer without getting the laws repealed, their sacrifice would have gone in vain. 

    The split in opinion led to some heated exchanges during the meeting, the sources said, forcing a vote over the issue.

    “The consensus was that we should stick to our stand of repeal. Voting took place in the meeting of all the 40 unions in which most voted for rejecting the proposal,” a leader said. Joginder Singh Ugrahan, the leader of the largest union, said, “we want the Centre to enact a legislation for remunerative MSP and also a law with the provision that the government procures these crops at MSP as it has been doing to date.”

    “The Punjab unions decided to reject the Centre’s proposal. They informed this at the joint meeting. There was a feeling that 143 farmers have sacrificed their lives and there is no point in settling for anything less than a repeal,” said All India Kisan Sabha general secretary Hannan Mollah  The morcha paid homage to the farmers who have died in the movement so far. 

    Tractor rally talks

    Meeting between farmer union leaders and the Delhi Police on tractor parade on Republic Day inconclusive Farmers firm on holding the rally on the Outer Ring Road in Delhi, while police wary of disturbing law and order, want them to call it off Thousands of tractors for the rally from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan already parked on Delhi’s borders

  • Tactical retreat for fear of losing ground, with eye on future gains

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hard-selling the contentious farm laws for months, its potential political cost appears to have weighed high in the government’s considerations to resort to a tactical retreat.

    Pressure from Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), apprehension of ceding space to Congress in Haryana, and risk assessments in the poll-bound states appear to have prevailed over the BJP to buy peace with agitating farmers, with an offer to keep the laws in abeyance for a year and a half.

    While the offer to keep the farm laws in suspended animation for a while may not be called a complete surrender by the government, the NDA at the Centre in the past had given up after pushing hard for amendments to the land acquisition law. After three ordinances, PM Modi had announced the intent of the government to allow the legislative intervention to lapse in the face of widespread protests by farmers.

    The prolonged farm agitation had put the BJP-JJP (Janata Jannayak Party) alliance government in Haryana staring at the prospects of Congress plucking off vulnerable MLAs from the ranks of the deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala-led outfit.  Twice Chautala met the Union Home Minister Amit Shah to raise concerns about the farm laws.

    In the last meeting, he was accompanied by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Within the BJP, it is being observed that Congress is gaining back the support base of the Jats (agrarian caste) in Rohtak-Sonipat regions. In the past few weeks, the government and the BJP sought to build a case that farmers in other states were in support of the farm laws.

    However, party leaders admitted that the response had largely been lukewarm. Even if farmers weren’t up in arms in the poll-bound states of West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, BJP was wary of a possible dent in support, with political rivals drumming up an anti-farmer narrative against the saffron outfit. Importantly, RSS wasn’t seen as overzealous about the farm laws, with its affiliates, particularly the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) being vocal about the assurance on MSP (Minimum Support Price) made mandatory for private procurement of grains. 

    The RSS is learnt to have also been cautious of reports about growing anger against BJP in Punjab. For RSS, insiders believe, the farm laws weren’t worth frittering away the organizational gains in all parts of Punjab, and a special bond with the Sikh community. 

  • CJI Bobde fumes at aspersions being cast on farm law committee members

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Taking strong exception to the aspersions cast on the four-member committee set up the Supreme Court to resolve the stalemate over the agri laws, Chief Justice of India SA Bobde on Wednesday said no one had a right to malign people’s reputation. 

    The remarks came during the hearing of a plea filed by Kisan Mahapanchayat seeking reconstitution of the panel after the recusal of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Mann) leader B S Mann. 

    The bench headed by the CJI and also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian issued notice to the Centre seeking its response and posted the matter for hearing after two weeks.

    During the hearing, senior advocate Dushyant Dave and advocate Prashant Bhushan told the bench that the farmer unions they were representing were not interested in participating in the deliberations to be held by the committee as they were firm on their demand for repeal of the laws. 

    “If you don’t want to appear before the committee, we can’t compel you. But you can’t malign people like this and cast aspersions on them and the court. We have serious objections that members of the committee are criticised and called names,” the CJI said.

    ALSO READ: Narendra Modi government withdraws plea on farmers’ tractor rally as SC says won’t intervene

    Taking note of submissions that opinions on the panel members had been formed on the basis of media reports about their pro-farm laws views, a visibly annoyed CJI said, “You cannot brand people like this… Everyone argues before a judge as if he is arguing on a clean slate but branding people has become a cultural thing now. Even judges express views during hearing. That doesn’t mean they can’t decide an issue.” 

    Noting that the basis of the plea was that all its current members had earlier expressed views in favour of the laws and hence, were biased, the CJI questioned, “How do you come to that conclusion? They are brilliant minds in the field of agriculture. They are experts. How can you malign them because they expressed some views in the past?… The Supreme Court appoints a committee and their reputation is torn to shreds.”

    ALSO READ: Narendra Modi government proposes to put farm laws on hold for two years to break the ice

    The bench said the committee had not been given powers to adjudicate and its role was only to hear the grievances of the parties impacted and report to the court. 

    UK MP concerned over NIA notices

    British Labour Party MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi has raised the issue of NIA sending notices to a number of people who are associated with the farmers’ stir in New Delhi.

    Asking a question to the Foreign Minister in the Parliament, Dhesi said over 100 members of the House of Commons have signed and sent a cross-party letter to PM Boris Johnson about “our anxieties for the protesting farmers in India”.

    BJP MP’s terror quip triggers row

    A BJP lawmaker triggered a row in Rajasthan by alleging terrorists were part of the farmers’ protest at Delhi borders.

    In a video clip, Dausa MP Jaskaur Meena is heard saying, “Terrorists are sitting there with AK-47s and have pitched the Khalistan flag.”

    ALSO READ: Terrorists sitting at farmers’ protest sites, says BJP MP; kicks up row in Rajasthan

    State BJP spokesperson Ramlal Sharma justified Meena’s comment while Congress chief G S Dotasara said the people were ashamed to have voted for her. 

    Congress to join long march in Mumbai

    The Congress in Maharashtra will participate in the ‘long march’ planned by farmer organisations in Mumbai on January 25 against the agri laws.

    Former Congress minister Naseem Khan said the party will support the four-day agitation organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha beginning January 23.

    State Congress leaders, including chief Balasaheb Thorat, will join the march to Raj Bhavan on January 25.

  • Narendra Modi government withdraws plea on farmers’ tractor rally as SC says won’t intervene

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  The Centre on Wednesday withdrew its plea seeking an injunction against the proposed tractor rally being planned by the farmers’ groups on January 26 against the new agriculture laws after the Supreme Court allowed the Delhi Police to withdraw the application, saying “it is a police matter”. 

    The bench headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde refused to keep the application pending, asserting that “this is not a matter for the court to decide. You (the police) have the powers under the law”.

    During the hearing, Attorney General K K Venugopal informed the court that 5,000 tractors were going to enter Delhi for the rally. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also demanded that the case be considered on January 25, after seeing how the situation develops.

    ALSO READ: Narendra Modi government proposes to put farm laws on hold for two years to break the ice

    “No, no. This is not a matter for the court to decide. You have the powers under the law. It’s highly inappropriate for the court to act as the first authority to allow or disallow protesters. We can allow you to withdraw the application. You are the executive and you have the power to look into this. It’s an issue of law and order and of the police,” the court said.

    The Delhi Police had approached the SC seeking direction to stop farmers’ proposed tractor rally on Republic Day. 

    “Right to protest is always subject to the countervailing public order and the public interest. The right to protest can never include maligning the nation globally,” Delhi Police had submitted.

    ALSO READ: Terrorists sitting at farmers’ protest sites, says BJP MP; kicks up row in Rajasthan

    Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for some farmer unions, said that farmers are convinced that the new farm laws are against them.

    “Suppose, we uphold the law then you protest. You counsel them properly. The only rider is to ensure that the people of Delhi are in peace,” the bench said.

    The bench said the authorities can record the statement of Bhushan’s clients that they also want peace and they should talk on the issue.