News Analysis India

Tag: Bharatiya Kisan Union

  • About 25,000 tractors from UP, Uttarakhand to participate in ‘Kisan Parade’: Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI
    GHAZIABAD: Around 25,000 tractors from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand will participate in the ‘Kisan Parade’ in the national capital on January 26, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said on Saturday.

    Farmers moving towards UP Gate from the two states on their tractor trolleys were intercepted by police in different districts but farmers will arrive here at every cost, he said.

    “Around 25,000 tractors would arrive here and a tractor rally would be brought out on Republic Day. Apart from the districts of western Uttar Pradesh, farmers would take out rallies in every district,” Tikait said in a statement.

    “No political person will be allowed to participate,” the BKU national spokesperson said.

    District administrations are sending notices to farmers and mounting pressure on them not to participate in the rallies citing COVID-19 norms and section 144 of the CrPC, he claimed.

    Routes of the rally will be decided by the police of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana and details will be released by the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha after a final decision, Tikait said.

    Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar, after attending a meeting between unions protesting the new agri laws and senior police officers on Saturday, claimed that the Delhi Police has given permission to the farmers’ tractor parade on January 26.

    The tractor parade will start from the Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri border points of Delhi, but the final details of routes are yet to be finalised, said Kohar, who is a senior member of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of the agitating unions.

    However, Delhi Police Additional Public Relation Officer Anil Mittal said, “We are in the final stages of talks with farmers.”

  • Government offers to put on hold farm laws for 1-1.5 years; Farmer unions to discuss internally

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Yielding some ground to end the nearly two-month-long protest by thousands of farmers on the national capital borders, the government on Wednesday proposed to suspend the three contentious farm laws for 1-1.5 years and set up a joint committee to find an amicable solution in the interest of the farming community.

    During their tenth round of negotiations with three central ministers, the two sides decided to meet again on Friday after the union leaders hold their own internal consultations on Thursday to decide on the government’s new proposal.

    Briefing media after a nearly five-hour-long meeting that included two breaks, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the government has proposed to suspend implementation of the three laws for 1-1.5 years, during which period a joint committee of representatives from the government and farmers’ sides can continue their talks and those protesting on Delhi borders in extremely cold weather return to their homes.

    The three laws have already been stayed by the Supreme Court till further orders and a committee of experts has been formed to resolve the deadlock.

    ALSO READ | What should I say about a mad person? Sakshi Maharaj hits out at Rahul over farm laws

    The panel has been asked by the apex court to submit its report within two months after consulting all stakeholders.

    The committee held its first meeting on Tuesday and will begin its consultations with farmer groups and others from Thursday.

    After the meeting, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan said, “The government proposed to suspend the farm laws for one and a half years. We rejected the proposal but since it has come from the government, we will meet tomorrow and deliberate over it.”

    Another farmer leader Kavitha Kuruganti said the government also proposed to submit an affidavit in the Supreme Court for suspending the three farm laws for a mutually-agreed period and set up a committee.

    Kulwant Singh Sandhu of Jamuri Kisan Sabha said, “The government is on backfoot and it has started yielding ground to us.”

    Earlier during the meeting, the government also again offered to amend the three laws but farmer leaders stuck to their demand for a complete repeal and alleged that the Centre was avoiding discussion on a legal guarantee for MSP.

    ALSO READ | Will celebrate Republic Day with farmers, expose BJP: Akhilesh Yadav

    Farmer leaders said there was no breakthrough in the first two sessions as both sides were stuck on their stated positions vis-a-vis the three farm laws and it was clear from the very beginning that there was little hope of any outcome other than fixing the date for the 11th round.

    Tomar, however, said the government was keen to reach a final decision in today’s meeting on the auspicious day of Gurupurab and therefore it started with greetings for the occasion.

    “The government was ready to discuss provisions of the laws with an open mind and a big heart,” he said.

    The minister said the talks were held in a cordial atmosphere despite some ‘naram-garam’ moments (softening and hardening of the stand) and farmers remained adamant on their demand for the repeal of the laws.

    He, however, asserted that some headway was made towards reaching a solution in the next meeting to end the agitation.

    “It will be victory for Indian democracy the day farmers’ agitation ends and they return to their homes,” he said in reply to a question whether it would be a victory for the farmers or the government.

    Asked whether the January 22 meeting at 12 pm could be the last one, Tomar said he is hopeful of reaching an amicable solution in the next round of talks.

    The minister said the new proposal has been made to allay farmers’ apprehensions and instill confidence that the government is ready for discussion with an open heart.

    “The Supreme Court has stayed the agri-reform laws for a short duration. Their implementation will not happen for some time. But, we have been telling the unions that it will require more time to consider the laws and to discuss other aspects related to the agitation. The required time maybe six months, one year or one and half years,” he said.

    “Therefore, we told the unions that the government is ready to put on hold the implementation of the laws for 1-1.5 years. I am happy that the farmer unions took this proposal seriously on the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh,” he said.

    Asked whether the proposed committee will continue alongside the SC-appointed expert panel, Tomar said, “The government is committed to the Supreme Court and will remain so.

    The committee appointed by the apex court is doing its job, but the government also has direct accountability towards farmers and the situation arising out of the protest. Therefore, we are taking forward this discussion while discharging our responsibility.”

    The modalities of the proposed panel, including the number of members, can be finalised after the two sides reach an in-principle agreement on this proposal, the minister said.

    ALSO READ | Will not participate in meetings of court-appointed committee: Farmers unions to SC

    At the meeting, farmer leaders also raised the issue of NIA notices being served to some farmers, alleging it was being done just to harass those supporting the agitation, to which the government representatives said they will look into the matter.

    The meeting began at around 2.45 pm with the three ministers greeting farmer leaders on the occasion of Gurupurab and the two sides took a lunch break after around one hour of discussions when farmer leaders had langar food.

    The meeting resumed at around 5.15 pm after the lunch break, but the two sides took another break at around 6 pm during which the farmer leaders discussed the government proposal for suspending the laws for a fixed period of time.

    Kuruganti said the meeting began with the NIA issue, followed by unions’ demand for a repeal of the laws.

    The farmer leaders presented multiple Parliament replies given by the agriculture minister where he had stated that agriculture is a state subject, while one reply mentioned even agri-marketing as a state subject.

    “The government offered to carry out some amendments, but farmer leaders maintained they do not want anything less than a complete repeal of the laws,” union leader Rakesh Tikait said.

    Tomar was accompanied by Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, who is an MP from Punjab, at the talks with 41 representatives of farmer unions at Vigyan Bhawan here.

    Before the meeting, the three ministers also met senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

    The tenth round of talks was initially scheduled on January 19, but later got postponed to Wednesday.

    In the last round of talks, the government had asked protesting farmers to prepare a concrete proposal about their objections and suggestions on the three farm laws for further discussion at their next meeting to end the long-running protest.

    But, unions stuck to their main demand of a complete repeal of the three Acts.

    Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various border points of Delhi for over a month now against the three laws.

    Farmer groups have alleged these laws will end the mandi and MSP procurement systems and leave the farmers at the mercy of big corporates, even as the government has rejected these apprehensions as misplaced.

    Earlier in the day, a group of farm union leaders met top officials of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh police to discuss the route and arrangements for their tractor rally on January 26 to protest against the three farm laws.

    But the unions rejected a suggestion by police officers to hold their rally on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway instead of Delhi’s Outer Ring Road, sources said.

  • Farmers not against any party but Centre’s policy: Bharatiya Kisan Union chief Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI
    NOIDA: The farmers’ fight is not with any political party but with the policy of the government, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Rakesh Tikait said here on Monday, warning the ongoing protest over the farm laws could prolong further.

    Tikait, who has participated in the multiple rounds of dialogues between farmers unions and the government representatives in Delhi over the past 54 days, was in Noida where he addressed protestors belonging to the BKU’s faction Lok Shakti.

    “Our fight is not with any party but the government. Here (in the protest) also we have people who support the BJP and will vote for them in the next election. But any party or ideology is not our concern. We are against the policy of the government,” he said, addressing hundreds, including women and youth, at the Dalit Prerna Sthal.

    He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should also reach out to the farmers, but only after the government has accepted their demands on the three new farm laws and legalisation of the minimum support price (MSP) on crops.

    “The prime minister should come amidst farmers and the government the day our demands are met and the issue is resolved. We will thank him and treat him with respect that day. We also don’t want him to come between us until then,” Tikait said.

    He also stressed that the discussions between representatives of farmers and the government should be televised for greater transparency and wider reach among people.

    Tikait, who is leading his BKU supporters at the Ghazipur border in Ghaziabad, had reached the Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida around 2 pm along with his union’s Uttar Pradesh unit spokesperson Pawan Khatana and other leaders.

    They met BKU (Lok Shakti) chief Sheoraj Singh and his supporters, who are camping at the Dalit Prerna Sthal since December 2, and participated in a human chain at the spot to symbolise the unity among various factions of protestors, BKU (Lok Shakti) spokesperson Shailesh Kumar Giri said.

    Exhorting the protestors to keep their spirits high, Tikait said, “They (the government) can accept our demands today, tomorrow or in six months or by 2024 because the farmers are not going back until then.”

    “There various banners and flags being raised at different protest sites. But banners and flags are not relevant anymore because this movement is driven by farmers belonging to villages,” he added.

    The influential peasants’ leader also called on the protestors to carry out the agitation responsibly and peacefully.

    “We must respect the land wherever we are whether our farms or a protest site. The protest should be peaceful and no property should be damaged,” he said.

    Thousands of protesting farmers are currently staying put at Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh demanding 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 system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations.

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

  • Farmers prepared to protest till May 2024: Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI
    NAGPUR: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday said farmers are prepared to protest against the Centre’s new farm laws “till May 2024”, and termed the ongoing agitation by peasants at Delhi borders as an “ideological revolution”.

    Addressing a press conference in Nagpur, Tikait said they want a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price (MSP).

    Farmers have been protesting near Delhi since November 26, 2020, demanding scrapping of the three new farm laws, which have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.

    However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of the MSP and do away with the mandi system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

    The Supreme Court last Tuesday stayed the implementation of the three new farm laws till further orders and decided to set up a four-member committee to resolve the impasse over them between the Centre and farmers’ unions protesting at Delhi borders.

    ALSO READ| SC to hear pleas on farm laws after recusal of member from panel set up to resolve impasse

    Asked how long will farmers will sit in protest, Tikait said, “We are prepared to sit in protest till May 2024…our demand is that the three laws be taken back and the government provide a legal guarantee on the MSP.”

    The next Lok Sabha elections in the country will be due around April-May 2024. Dismissed allegations that the protest was being fuelled by “rich farmers”, Tikait said people from villages and various outfits have joined the protest.

    “This is an ideological revolution of farmers started from Delhi and will not fail. Farmers from villages do not want us come back until the three farm bills are taken back. The government is adamant on its stance of not withdrawing the bills and this agitation will continue for long,” Tikait added.

    He welcomed the SC’s decision on staying the implementation of the farm laws, but said the committee formed by the apex court has members who “supported” the farm bills. “We do not want to go before the committee formed by the court. The government has also said that the government and farmers will find solution on this issue,” he said.

    ALSO READ| SC-appointed panel on farm laws to hold first meeting on January 19

    Tikait also said the opposition parties in the country were weak and that is why farmers had to start this agitation against the Centre’s new laws.

    On National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) notices to some people supporting the farmers’ protest, he said, “Those who want to be part of the agitation must be ready for court cases, imprisonment and sealing of property.”

  • Farmers to sit for ninth round of talks on Friday; unions say don’t have much expectations from Modi government

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH: The Centre as well as the protesting farmer unions on Thursday said the ninth round of talks over the contentious farm laws will take place as scheduled.

    “We are hopeful of a positive discussion at the ninth round of talks with farmer unions on Friday,” Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, reiterating that the Centre was ready to talk to the farmers with an open mind.

    Doubts over the continuation of the dialogue emerged after farmer unions dismissed the Supreme Court-appointed four-member panel to end the stalemate. However, the unions have confirmed they will not pull out from the talks.

    “Let’s see what happens at the meeting. But our meetings with the government will continue till our protest ends,” Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said. 

    The farmer union leaders also appealed to all protesters to maintain peace and harmony during the tractor parade on Republic Day. BKU (Rajewal) leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said the details of the tractor parade in Delhi will be finalised next week after the talks with the government.

    In an open letter written in Punjabi to all farmers, Rajewal condemned rumours saying the farmers will march to Rajpath and hoist the national flag at Red Fort. Urging everyone not to fall for such rumours, he asked people to participate in large numbers. 

    The BKU leader also appealed to farmers to act as volunteers and keep an eye on anyone trying to defame the struggle saying “we can win only through peaceful means”. 

    Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) Joginder Singh Ugrahan told PTI, “We are going to hold talks with the government tomorrow. We don’t have much hope from the Friday meeting as the government will cite the SC-appointed panel. The government doesn’t have good intention to resolve our issues.”

    Singh said that the unions do not want any committee, adding “we just want a complete repeal of three farm laws and legal guarantee on minimum support price for our crops.”

    He said that farmers will not call off their protest until their demands are met.

    Another farmer leader, Abhimanyu Kohar, said that government knows that the court cannot repeal the laws and added that the Centre should stop playing with the sentiments of farmers who have been camping at several Delhi borders since November 28.

    He said that forming a committee is not a solution, adding that the new farm laws have been enacted by Parliament and the court cannot do much.

    Darshan Pal, president of Krantikari Kisan Union, said, “We will be entering Delhi on January 26 and for that we will be finalising our strategy soon. How many of us will enter from where and how is still to be decided. But our march will be totally peaceful.”

    Meanwhile, more than 800 women farmers and university students have written an open letter to Chief Justice of India S A Bobde expressing shock and dismay at the comments made in the Supreme Court “undermining” the participation of women farmers in the agitation. 

    “One of the important points of concern is the paternalism and patriarchy reflected in observations with regard to women farmers. We urge the respected institution of the Supreme Court to recognise and appreciate the agency of women in this matter,” Kavitha Krunganthi of All India Kisan Sangarsh Coordination Committee said.

    Amandeep, National Council Member, Youth for Swaraj, said women were the heart and soul of the agitation and undermining their role was disgraceful. 

    In an interview to PTI, Anil Ghanwat, a member of the SC-appointed committee, said that the panel will have no “ego or prestige issue” if it has to go to farmers’ protest sites to talk to them.

    On the government holding parallel talks with protesting farmers, scheduled for January 15, after the SC appointed the panel, Ghanwat said, “I think this will be their last meeting with the government. They will say henceforth you (farmers) have to sit with the committee, which will give a report to the Supreme Court.”

    Asked about protesting farmers’ unwillingness to take part in the committee proceedings, he said, “We will go before them. We are their brothers. We have worked together in the past. We will reach out to them, sit with them and discuss the issue. There is no problem.”

    The farmer unions have been maintaining that they were ready to attend the scheduled talks with the government, even as they have said they do not want to appear before the court-appointed panel and have also questioned its composition.

    Earlier in the day, Bhartiya Kisan Union president Bhupinder Singh Mann said he is recusing himself from the four-member committee.

    Farmer unions and opposition parties had called it a “pro-government” panel, insisting that its members have been in favour of the three laws in the past.

    Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at several Delhi border points, demanding a complete repeal of the three farm laws and legal guarantee of minimum support price for their crops.

    Enacted in September last year, the three laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

    However, the protesting farmers have expressed their apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of the MSP and do away with the “mandi” (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

    Want talks to government to continue: Tikait

    Tikait on Thursday said the protesting farmer unions will attend the scheduled ninth round of talks with the government and asserted it is necessary to continue the dialogue to resolve the deadlock and end the agitation.

    While the previous eight rounds of negotiations have failed to end the protests continuing for several weeks on various borders of the national capital, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said earlier in the day that the government is hopeful of positive discussions at Friday’s scheduled meeting.

    Tikait also said the protesting unions will attend the meeting with union ministers on Friday.

    Asked if unions have any hope from the Friday meeting, Tikait told PTI: “Let’s see what happens tomorrow. But, our meetings will continue with the government till our protest ends as it is necessary.”

    “We will not oppose the meetings with the government,” the BKU leader said when asked whether the Friday talks could be the last one if there is no solution.

    Tomar had said, “The government is ready to hold talks with farmers’ leaders with an open mind.”

    Clearing the confusion over the fate of the ninth round of talks, which was the only outcome in the last meeting on January 8, in the wake of the Supreme Court on January 11 appointing a four-member panel to resolve the impasse and a key member of the proposed committee subsequently recusing himself, the union leader said the talks between the government and the union representatives will take place as scheduled for 12 pm on January 15.

    Don’t believe in rumours being spread to defame stir: BKU leader to farmers

    BKU leader Balbir Singh Rajewal on Thursday wrote an open letter to farmers, urging them not believe in rumours being spread to defame their agitation against the Centre’s farm laws.

    The BKU (Rajewal) president said rumours are being spread about the farmers’ proposed tractor parade on January 26.

    It is being spread as if farmers will head towards the Red Fort or Parliament on January 26, Rajewal wrote in Punjabi cautioning farmers not to believe in such rumours.

    He apprehended that some “anti-farmer forces” are desperately trying to “fail” their peaceful agitation.

    He stressed that the farmers’ ongoing protest will remain peaceful.

    Rajewal said the outline of the ‘Kisan parade’ will be announced next week.

    Farmers had proposed to take out a tractor parade on the Republic Day if their demands were not accepted by the Centre.

    Rajewal noted that an agitation will only be successful if it is completely peaceful.

    Rajewal said the ongoing agitation is not limited to farmers only and was receiving support of every section of society as they understand “adverse implications” of these laws.

    It has turned into a “jan andolan” and has spread to Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states after having started from Punjab, claimed Rajewal in the letter.

    Giving details about farmers’ proposed programmes in coming days, he said Mahila Kisan Diwas will be observed on January 18 and Guru Gobind Singh’s Parkash Purb on January 20.

    Azad Hind Kisan Diwas will be observed on January 23 on the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, he said.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • 60 ryots lost their lives during protest against farm laws, claims Bharatiya Kisan Union

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: A total of 60 farmers have lost their lives during the ongoing farmers’ protest against the new farm laws so far, claimed Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson, Rakesh Tikait on Monday.

    He further said that one farmer is dying every 16 hours and it is the responsibility of the government to give an answer.

    He made the statements ahead of the eighth-round of talks with the Central government over the issue. The meeting between the farmer unions and the Central government is scheduled to take place today afternoon.

    So far, several rounds of talks have been held between the Central government and the unions.

    Meanwhile, despite rains and the ongoing cold wave across North India, farmers agitating against the Centre’s farm laws stood strong at the borders of the national capital and continued their protest.

    Farmers have been protesting at different borders of the national capital for over a month 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.

  • Rains take down tents but not farmers’ spirit at Noida-Delhi border as protestors stay put

    By PTI
    NOIDA: Protesting farmers at the Noida-Delhi border withstood rains and cold weather conditions as their demonstration against the Centre’s recent farm laws continued here on Sunday.

    Some tents at the protest sites collapsed due to the rain, prompting the farmers to use tarpaulin sheets for shelter as the drizzle continued till late afternoon.

    Scores of farmers belonging to the Bhanu and Lok Shakti factions of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) are staying put at the Chilla border and the Dalit Prerna Sthal respectively for over a month now.

    Despite the adverse weather conditions and a continued impasse with the government over the three new laws and the issue of legalisation of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, the farmers said their protest will continue till the Centre repeals these legislations.

    “Some of our tents collapsed due to the rain and the low temperatures also made it difficult for the protesters to sit under the open sky. Many of us took refuge under the structures at the Dalit Prerna Sthal, while tarpaulin sheets were used by others to stay put,” BKU (Lok Shakti) spokesperson Shailesh Kumar Giri said.

    The situation was similar at the Chilla border, but the Uttar Pradesh unit chief of the BKU (Bhanu), Yogesh Pratap Singh, said his union’s “fight” will continue till their demands are met.

    Meanwhile, the teachers’ association of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Agra and the “Kisan Adhikar – Yuva Rozgaar” association lent their support to the BKU (Lok Shakti) as hundreds of members of these bodies reached the protest site on Sunday.

    The Bhanu and Lok Shakti factions of the BKU are not part of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farmers’ unions that is leading the charge at Delhi’s border points in Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur, but have extended their support to the cause.

    A senior police official said the Noida-Delhi Link Road via Chilla continued to remain partially closed for commuters due to the agitation, though there is no law-and-order situation.

    Thousands of farmers are 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.

    They have expressed the apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the MSP system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations.

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