News Analysis India

Tag: Bharatiya Kishan Union

  • Gherao Delhi cops if they come to arrest you, BKU leader tells farmers as more events announced to escalate protest

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Alleging that notices are being served on people backing the agitation against the farm laws, BKU leader Balbir Singh Rajewal on Sunday asked farmers to gherao Delhi Police personnel if they come to their villages to make an arrest.

    The BKU (Rajewal) leader also asked the Amarinder Singh-led Punjab government that the state police should not cooperate with the Delhi cops.

    “If the Delhi Police personnel come to arrest you, gather the entire village and oppose them,” Rajewal told farmers at a “Kisan-Mazdoor Ekta Maha Rally” in Punjab’s Barnala on Sunday.

    The rally was organised by the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) and the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union.

    Two days ago, Haryana BKU chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni had made a similar appeal.

    Rajewal asked farmers not to appear before the Delhi Police if they get notices for joining investigation and told them to ‘gherao’ the Delhi Police personnel if they come to make an arrest.

    Claiming that the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre is scared of the farmers’ agitation, he alleged that those serving ‘langar’ or extending help to farmers at the protest sites near Delhi borders are being issued notices by police.

    “Those who are bringing ‘langar’ material or extending help to us in whatever manner they can, they are being slapped with notices. It is in my knowledge that many FIRs have been lodged against unknown persons by the Delhi Police,” the BKU leader said.

    “I want to make it clear to all farmers and labourers that if anyone gets notice, do not bother, forward one copy to us. No one needs to appear before police,” he said.

    Rajewal said it is a “moment of test” for the Punjab government, which should tell the state police not to cooperate with the Delhi Police.

    Rajewal further said the farmers’ agitation against the laws has now turned into a “jan andolan” (people’s movement).

    “It is a question of your future and children,” he said, adding that they would not return until the farm laws are withdrawn.

    He also praised village panchayats for their decision of sending people to the protest sites on rotational basis.

    Rajewal said the Union government had no right to bring the laws as the agriculture is a state subject.

    He also defended commission agents (arhtiyas), saying they only charge for their “service” and accused the Centre of bringing corporates as “middlemen” with these laws.

    On farmer leaders’ multiple rounds of meetings with the government earlier, Rajewal said, “We told the government that when they are ready to make many amendments in these laws, what is the problem in rolling back them.”

    The BJP had propagated that they framed these laws keeping in view the farmers’ interests but we confronted them and asked where farmers demanded the legislations, he stated.

    Addressing the gathering, BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan said his outfit has planned to hold a big gathering in Delhi on February 27 and decided to observe International Women’s Day on March 8 in the national capital.

    Referring to the Republic Day violence, Ugrahan said it was done by a group which acted at the behest of the government.

    He asked farmers to prepare for a long battle against the farm legislations.

    “This is not a fight of a religion or caste. It is a fight of secular people. This agitation is for occupation. It is a fight of the country’s farmers,” he said.

    BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan also sought release of labour rights activist Nodeep Kaur, lodged in a Karnal jail.

    Kaur, a member of the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, was arrested for allegedly gheraoing an industrial unit and demanding money from the company in Sonipat on January 12.

    From ‘Pagadi Sambhal Diwas’ to ‘Daman Virodhi Diwas’, protesting farmers Sunday announced a series of events from February 23-27 to further intensify their agitation against the three new agricultural laws as they accused the government of adopting “repressive” measures against them.

    They also said they will soon devise a strategy to keep the protest going for long and will make their plans public on February 28.

    The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is spearheading the protests, told a press conference here that under their proposed escalation programme, February 23 will be observed as ‘Pagadi Sambhal Diwas’ and February 24 as ‘Daman Virodhi Diwas’, essentially to underline that farmers must be respected and no “repressive measures” should be taken against them.

    “The ‘Pagdi Sambhal Diwas’ will be celebrated on February 23. This day will be celebrated in memory of Chacha Ajit Singh and Swami Sahajanand Saraswati. On this day, farmers will be wearing their regional turbans.”

    “On February 24, ‘Daman Virodhi Diwas’ is announced in which the farmers and citizens will protest against overall suppression against the farmers’ movement.

    On this day, memoranda will be given to the President of India via Tehsil and district headquarters,” said Darshan Pal, a farmer leader The Morcha said February 26 will be observed as ‘Yuva Kisan Diwas’ (youth farmers day) and February 27 as ‘Mazdoor Kisan Ekta Divws’ (farmer-labourer unity day).

    “On February 26, honouring the contribution of youth in this movement, a ‘Yuva Kisan Diwas’ will be organised. On this day all the stages of SKM will be operated by the youth. Youth from various states are requested to join the protesters at Delhi Borders.”

    “On January 27, on Guru Ravidas Jayanti and martyrdom day of Shaheed Chandrasekhar Azad, ‘Kisan Majdoor Ekta Diwas’ will be celebrated. All the citizens are appealed to strengthen this movement by joining the protesters Delhi borders,” Pal said.

    Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav told the press conference, “The government is adopting all the repressive measures, mischief and manipulations including arrests, detentions and registration of cases against the protesters.

    The Singhu border has been fortified and appears to be an international border”.

    A long-term plan for movement will be discussed in view of the Parliament session from March 8, and the strategy will be shared in the next meeting of SKM, he said.

    Darshan Pal, also alleged “repression” by the government.

    He said around 32 people have got bail out of 122 arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with the violence and vandalism in the national capital during a farmers’ tractor rally on Republic Day.

    The three contentious agricultural laws were passed by Parliament last year with the government saying they will benefit farmers by freeing them of the clutches of the middlemen and ushering in new technology in the sector.

    However, thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi borders against the laws for close to three months now, saying these legislations will remove the safety net of MSP and leave them at the mercy of big corporates.

  • Ready for talks, government should come with new proposal, farmers say; Tikait calls for ‘tractor revolution’

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Protesting farmer unions Saturday said they are ready to resume talks with the government, but asked it to come up with a fresh proposal as the existing offer to put the three farm laws on hold for 12-18 months is not acceptable to them.

    The unions, however, made it clear that they would not settle for anything less than the repeal of the three contentious laws.

    Addressing a press conference at the Singhu border here, Samyukta Kisan Morcha’s senior leader Darshan Pal said the ball is now in the government’s court now.

    “We are ready to talk. The ball is in the government’s court. We clearly told them that their last proposal (of suspending the farm laws for 12-18 months) was not acceptable to us. Now, they should come up with a new proposal,” he told reporters.

    The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farm unions leading the protests at the city border points, thanked all global personalities for their support to the protests.

    He said the farmers have been on the agitation for “many months and many farmers have been martyred”.

    “It is a shame that at the behest of the government, some people want to suppress this movement by calling it as an ‘internal matter’, but it is necessary to understand that in democracy, people are superior, not the government,” it stated.

    ALSO READ | Repeal farm laws without further delay: Sukhbir Badal to Modi government

    The assertion comes in the backdrop of support extended by some global celebrities such as singer Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg to the farmers’ protests against the three laws.

    Talking about the Saturday’s ‘chakka jam’, the farmer leader claimed it got a huge nationwide support which once again “proved” that farmers across the country are united against these farm laws.

    Pal also condemned Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s statement in Parliament on Friday.

    “He (Tomar) insulted the struggle of farmers of India by saying that only one state’s farmers are opposing the agricultural laws,” Pal said.

    Countering the Opposition’s claim that farmers across the country are agitated over the three laws, Tomar had on Friday said in Rajya Sabha that peasants of just one state are being misinformed and instigated.

    After the 11th round of talks on January 22, the government’s negotiations with the representatives of thousands of protesting farmers had hit a roadblock as the unions had rejected the Centre’s proposal to put three contentious laws on hold.

    The government had asked unions to revert by January 23 in case they agree to the suspension proposal and the talks can continue only thereafter.

    However, the unions remained firm on their demands.

    “Despite all the conspiracies of the government and anti-social elements, the SKM stands on the demand for the complete repeal of all the three laws and legal guarantee of the MSP,” Samyukta Kisan Morcha said in the Saturday statement.

    India had Wednesday hit out at global celebrities such as singer Rihanna and Thunberg for their support of the farmers’ protests, the focus of a sharply polarised international debate that saw several Bollywood and cricket stars and top ministers rally around the government in its pushback.

    The SKM claimed that according to the information compiled so far, 204 agitators have died in the ongoing movement, but the government is still ignoring the pain of farmers.

    ALSO READ | Centre should accept protesting farmers’ demands: Sisodia

    Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at three Delhi border points — Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur — for over 70 days, demanding a repeal of the three farm laws.

    Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait on Saturday called on peasants across the country to join the “tractor revolution” as part of the ongoing protests at Delhi’s borders against the new agri laws introduced by the Centre.

    During a speech to supporters at the Ghazipur protest site, Tikait reached out to the farming community, many of whom especially in the Delhi-NCR region have been upset over the National Green Tribunal’s ban on diesel vehicles, including tractors, that are over 10 years old.

    “The tractors which run in the farms will now run at the NGT’s office in Delhi also. Until recently, they had not asked which vehicles are 10 years old. What is their plan? Phase out tractors older than 10 years and help the corporates? But the tractors older than 10 years will also run and the movement (for repeal of the new farm laws) will also be strengthened,” Tikait, 51, told the crowd amid cheers.

    ALSO READ | Business as usual at Singhu border as action shifts to other highways

    He said more and more farmers across the country will participate in the ongoing farmers’ stir for rollback of the contentious laws.

    Recently, 20,000 tractors were in Delhi and the next target is taking that number to 40 lakh, Tikait said.

    He also called on tractor owners to attach their vehicles with the ‘tractor kraanti’ (tractor revolution).

    “Write ‘Tractor Kranti 2021, 26 January’ on your tractors. Wherever you will go, you will be respected. We have a target of 40 lakh tractors,” he said.

    The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader, whose emotional appeal recently had revived the protest that was losing momentum post the January 26 violence in Delhi, also called on villagers to bring a fistful of soil from their farmlands to the agitation sites and take back a similar amount of ‘mitti’ of the revolution from the protest sites.

    ALSO READ | ‘Negative powers’ attempting to create misconceptions over farm laws will fail: Jitendra Singh

    “Go and spread this revolutionary soil in your farmlands and never will traders look at your farmlands (to usurp it),” Tikait said.

    Exhorting supporters to keep the momentum going, he asked them to be prepared to reach protest sites as the agitation at Ghazipur, Tikri and Singhu border points of Delhi could go on till October.

    “Be prepared at villages, whenever a call is made, reach the protest the way the youth (from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh) has done (after the January 26 episode),” he said.

    Ghazipur has earlier witnessed the influence of Tikait over the farmers’ community in north India when hundreds of people, including women and children, from villages in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand reached here with water and home-made food on the BKU leader’s call.

    Tikait had made a call for water and food from villages following disruptions in water supply at the protest site by local authorities in the wake of the January 26 violence.

  • Agri laws: We can bring down government, warns Tikait; Tomar says not having informal talks with farmers

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH: The protesting farmers at a mahapanchayat in Haryana’s Jind district on Wednesday passed five resolutions demanding a repeal of the three farm laws, making a law to ensure minimum support price, waiving farmers’ loans, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations and withdrawal of criminal cases registered against protesters in Delhi on January 26.

    They also threatened a mahapanchayat at the national level, saying such gatherings will continue across the country till government repeals the laws. 

    Speaking at the Jind mahapanchayat on Wednesday, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait warned the BJP government could lose power if the agitation continues.

    “The government should listen carefully: What will you do if the youth give a call for ‘gaddi wapsi’ (removal from power),” he said. Referring to massive blockades put up by Delhi Police at border points, Tikait said, “When the king is scared, he secures the fortress.’’

    Just before Tikait was to begin his speech at the ”mahapanchayat” in Kandela village, the makeshift stage on which the farmer leaders had gathered collapsed under their weight.

    Nobody was reported hurt and Tikait went on to address the gathering.

    But the episode triggered a commotion and he and the event organisers had to repeatedly tell people to maintain calm.

    ALSO READ | Fortification continues at Ghazipur, farmers gear up for February 6 ‘chakka jaam’

    Calling for a “wapsi” (withdrawal) of the new central laws, Tikait indirectly warned the Narendra Modi government that it could lose its “gaddi” (power) if the agitation continues.

    “We have so far talked about “bill wapsi” (repealing the farm laws). The government should listen carefully. What will you do if the youth call for “gaddi wapsi” (removal from power)?” he said.

    He asked the Centre to repeal the three laws and frame a new one to assure continuation of the minimum support price (MSP) system.

    The BKU leader from Uttar Pradesh has been camping at Ghazipur on the Delhi-UP border as part of a campaign by farmer unions against the central laws enacted in September.

    Farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, are also massed at Tikri and Singhu on the Delhi-Haryana border for two months.

    After violence on Republic Day, police barricaded these protest sites with cement barriers and spikes on the roads leading to them.

    Criticising the restrictions, Tikait said, “When the king is scared, he secures the fortress.”

    He suggested that he would lay down on the nails embedded on the roads there so that others can cross them by stepping on him.

    He said the Centre must talk with the farmer unions spearheading the agitation.

    The ”mahapanchayat” was attended by Haryana BKU chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni and BKU leader from Punjab, Balbir Singh Rajewal.

    Over 50 “khap” leaders were also present.

    ALSO READ | ‘India stands united’: Amit Shah as global celebrities lend voice to farmers’ protest

    Last week, a large number of farmers participated in a mahapanchayat in UP’s Muzaffarnagar in support of the BKU-led protest at Ghazipur.

    Jind is often considered part of Haryana’s political heartland and the ”mahapanchayat” was meant to muster support for the farmers’ agitation.

    It was organised by Sarva Jatiya Kandela Khap headed by Tekram Kandela.

    Five resolutions were passed at the “mahapanchayat”.

    These urged the government to repeal the new laws, give a legal guarantee on the MSP, implement the Swaminathan Commission report, waive farm loans and release farmers arrested after the events in Delhi on January 26.

    Tikait said the campaign against the farm laws was going strong.

    “The way we are getting support from khap panchayats, we will win this fight.”

    He urged everyone involved, particularly the youth, to keep protesting in a peaceful manner and assured victory will be theirs.

    He underlined the role played by farmers and their unions from Punjab.

    “We need their help. Haryana and Uttar Pradesh will back them. We will maintain the prestige of the farmer’s turban,” he said.

    Seeking to project unity among the farmer unions, Tikait referred to BKU (Rajewal) chief Balbir Singh Rajewal as “our leader”.

    Tikait, whose show of emotion recently appeared to have helped revive the farmers’ agitation after the violence on Republic Day, said there are 40 unions spearheading the protest and decisions will be taken collectively.

    Rajewal accused the Modi government of behaving with farmers in a manner that “no other government in the world” would.

    “Centre brought laws which will destroy farmers and this country. We began this agitation several months back in Punjab, it has now spread to entire country,” he told the “mahapanchayat”.

    ALSO READ | Sachin Tendulkar takes potshot at international celebs, says external forces can be spectators but not participants

    On the new police barricades, Rajewal said the government has turned protest sites into a kind of “open jails”.

    Khap leader Kandela said the prime minister and the Union home minister should talk directly with the protesting farmers.

    The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Wednesday said it is a matter of pride that eminent personalities of the world are showing sensitivity towards the cause of farmers, but it is unfortunate that the Government of India is not understanding their pain.

    The remarks come a day after international pop star Rihanna and young environmental activist Greta Thunberg tweeted in support of the farmers’ agitation.

    The SKM, an umbrella body of farmer unions protesting against three agri laws, acknowledged the support of international personalities towards the ongoing farmers’ movement.

    “On one hand, it is a matter of pride that eminent personalities of the world are showing sensitivity towards the cause of farmers, while on the other hand, it is unfortunate that the Government of India is not understanding the pain of the farmers and some people are even calling peaceful farmers as terrorists,” the SKM said in a statement issued by its leader Darshan Pal.

    The Morcha also asserted that the agitation is getting stronger day by day.

    “After massive support in kisan mahapanchayats in Uttar Pradesh, farmers have organised mahapanchayats in Dabra and Phulbagh in Madhya Pradesh, Mehndipur in Rajasthan and Jind in Haryana. A large number of farmers will be coming to Delhi in the coming days,” the statement said.

    Farmers from Rajasthan and Punjab are coming to the Shahjahanpur border daily.

    The farmers have again started a dharna at Palwal border and many from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan will join the agitation in coming days, the Morcha said in the statement.

    The umbrella body of farmer unions said it has taken note of transport-related problems and alleged that the government has shut down the internet and now the entry of media persons to the protest sites is also being “choked” by it.

    “The government is fearful of the reality of this movement reaching the common people across the country and is doing its best to block communication from the protest sites,” the SKM said.

    “It is high time that internet services are restored, barricading of main and internal roads is removed, supplies are freely allowed, and protesters are released by the government, the Morcha demanded.

    The outfit also extended support to the one-day strike of electricity workers across the country, saying it “strongly opposed” privatisation of the power sector.

    Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar Wednesday said the Centre is not holding any informal talk with protesting farmers and described putting up of more barricades and suspending internet in and around agitation sites as law and order issues related to local administrations.

    The last and 11th round of meeting between the government and 41 protesting unions, held on January 22, was inconclusive.

    The Centre had asked unions to reconsider the government’s proposal to suspend new farm laws for 18 months.

    Asked if the government was engaging with the unions informally, Tomar told PTI, “No. We will inform when formal talks will be held.”

    He was also asked when the government will hold the next round of talks.

    When told that protesting unions demand that no formal talks with the government can be held until the police and the administration stop “harassing” them and release the detained farmers, the minister said, “They should talk to the Police Commissioner. I don’t want to comment on the law and order issue. That’s not my job.”

    Separately, Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary said in a statement that the dialogue is the only way out for finding a solution for any kind of protest.

    The government is trying and it is ready to talk inside as well as outside Parliament, he said.

    The minister said the laws are in favour of farmers, but the Opposition was politicising the issue.

    Choudhary also said he will give up his ministership and leave the politics if farmers lose even one inch of their land under these laws.

    Since the January 22 talks, there has been no meeting between the farmer leaders and the Centre to discuss the farm laws although the government reiterated that its offer stands and doors are open for discussion.

    On Tuesday, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) — the umbrella body of farmers’ unions protesting the Central farm laws — had said that there can be no “formal” talks with the government until the “harassment” of different kinds against the farmers’ movement by the police and administration is “immediately stopped”.

    The SKM had also said no formal proposal for talks has been received by it.

    “Though no formal proposal for talks came from the government, we clearly state that the talks will be held only after the unconditional release of farmers who are in illegal police custody,” SKM had said in a statement.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an all-party meeting on Saturday had said the government’s offer to suspend the farm laws for 18 months was still on the table and the agriculture minister was just a phone call away to take the talks forward.

    The sites of the farmer protest at Delhi’s borders have turned into fortresses with police beefing up security and putting up multi-layer barricades to stop the movement of vehicles.

    Concertina wires and metal spikes have also been put up to keep off people on foot.

    The strengthened security measures come after the violence during the Republic Day tractor parade by the farmers.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Agri laws: Farmer leaders bat for ‘respectful solution’; Opposition steps up attack on government

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI/GHAZIABAD: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government was just a “phone call away” for talks with the farmers agitating against the farm laws, union leaders on Sunday said a “respectful solution” should be found but they will not agree to anything “under pressure”.

    Farmer leaders Rakesh and Naresh Tikait demanded that the government release the protesters to create a conducive environment for talks, even as Prime Minister Modi, during his monthly radio address, said that the country was saddened by the “insult” to the Tricolour on the Republic Day, referring to the violence at Red Fort during the farmers’ tractor parade.

    As hundreds of farmers continued to converge at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border following a tearful Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait’s impassioned appeal on Thursday, the ripples spread deeper in western Uttar Pradesh where a mahapanchyat was held in Baghpat in support of the stir, the third in as many days in the key region.

    Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal met Rakesh Tikait, joining several other leaders from the opposition parties who have visited the protest site to extend their support.

    The farmers will honour the dignity of the prime minister, but are also committed to protecting their self-respect, the Tikait brothers who are leading the agitation asserted, even as they warned that the farm laws issue could cost the BJP dear electorally.

    ALSO READ | Agriculture Minister not giving correct facts on farm bills, Pawar counters Tomar

    “They (Farmers) are free to vote anyone, we cannot ask them to vote for a particular party. If a party has hurt them, why would they bring it to power again?” Naresh Tikait said. Both the leader said they were open to talks with the government to find a “middle path”.

    Prime Minister Modi had on Saturday said his government’s offer on agri laws made to protesting farmers “still stands” and the Centre was just a “phone call away” for talks, days after violence broke out in parts of the national capital on Republic Day.

    Rakesh said they will honour and respect the dignity of prime minister, and added the farmers don’t want the government or Parliament to “bow down to them”.

    But at the same time, he added, they will also ensure the self-respect of farmers is protected.

    During their January 26 parade, scores of protesters had stormed the Red Fort, with some of them hoisting religious flags on its ramparts.

    The two leaders condemned Republic Day violence and said it was unacceptable, even though they alleged it was the result of a conspiracy.

    They said the Tricolour was above everything and they will never let anyone disrespect it.

    The Delhi Police has registered nearly 40 cases and made over 80 arrests in connection with the violence and vandalism.

    “The government should release our men and prepare an environment conducive for talks. A respectful solution should be reached. We will never agree to anything under pressure,” Rakesh Tikait asserted.

    Naresh, the elder of the two Tikait brothers and Bharatiya Kisan Union national president, (BKU) told PTI, “Talks are necessary. A solution should be found.”

    ALSO READ | Took political support for farmers’ movement only after democracy was mocked: Rakesh Tikait

    “The middle path could be that the BJP government assures farmers it won’t implement the three laws during its tenure. We will also try convincing the farmers. What else can be better than this?” he suggested.

    “We respect the prime minister’s post. Farmers should be respected too,” he said.

    Naresh and Rakesh are sons of Mahendra Singh Tikait, once counted among the tallest farmer leaders of the country.

    More tents came up at the UP gate protest site in Ghazipur on Sunday and many waited for hours to talk to Rakesh Tikait or click a selfie with him.

    The farmer leader remained busy meeting his supporters and talking to the media, halting only when his voice gave away.

    A Bharatiya Kisan Union member said Rakesh has not been able to sleep for more than three hours a day for the past three days.

    Small groups of farmers took out marches, carrying the Tricolour and shouting slogans.

    Shiromani Akal Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, whose party pulled out of the NDA government over the three farm laws, met Tikait for around 10 minutes.

    Earlier, Congress’ UP president Ajay Kumar Lallu, Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary and Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhay Chautala had visited the protest site to extend support.

    In Baghpat, a ‘sarv khap mahapanchayat’ took place at the Tehsil ground with farmers pouring in from nearby districts as well in tractor-trollies.

    It was the third ‘mahapanchayat’ of farmers in the region after a massive congregation in Muzaffarnagar on Friday and in Mathura on Saturday, both resolving to support the ongoing BKU-led protest.

    BKU leader Rajendra Chaudhary told the crowd, “the movement has to be continued with full strength.”

    ALSO READ | Thousands converge for third ‘mahapanchayat’ in UP, resolve to support stir over farm laws

    The two-month-long protest against the farm laws appeared to be losing steam after widespread violence during a tractor parade by farmers on the Republic Day, but an emotional appeal by Rakesh Tikait gave it a fresh lease of life.

    Delhi’s Singhu border also saw more farmers from Punjab and Haryana joining the protest, even as some complained of poor internet connectivity and difficulties in getting water and food supplies.

    The opposition parties are likely to raise the issue of farm laws vociferously in Parliament and have already stepped up attack on the government.

    Several parties, including the Congress and the SAD, and media bodies on Sunday condemned the police action against two journalists who were picked up during the farmers’ protests at the Singhu border for allegedly misbehaving with police personnel.

    They said such crackdowns impinge on the media’s right to report freely and interferes with its right to freedom of expression.

    Freelance journalist Mandeep Punia and Dharmender Singh (with Online News India) were detained by Delhi Police last evening for allegedly misbehaving with personnel on duty.

    While Singh was later released, the police arrested Punia on Sunday.

    The Indian Women’s Press Corps, Press Club of India and the Press Association demanded Punia’s immediate release and said no journalist should be disturbed while carrying out their duties at any place.

    Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the farmers were deeply hurt by the the BJP’s moves to “defame” them.

    Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar expressed dismay over NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s tweets criticising the farm laws, saying they were a mix of “ignorance and misinformation” about the legislation, and hoped that the veteran leader will change his stand after knowing the “facts”.

    In a series of tweets, Pawar had on Saturday said the new agriculture laws of the Union government will adversely impact the Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement and weaken the `Mandi’ system.

    Tomar said Pawar, who is a veteran leader, is also considered well-versed with the issues and solutions relating to agriculture.

    “Pawar himself tried hard to bring the same agriculture reforms earlier.”

    “Since he speaks with some experience and expertise on the issue, it was dismaying to see his tweets employ a mix of ignorance and misinformation on the agriculture reforms. Let me take this opportunity to present some facts,” Tomar said on Twitter and went on to stress that the “apprehensions” expressed by Pawar have no basis.

    Meanwhile, a fresh war of words also erupted between the AAP and the ruling Congress in Punjab, with the former demanding that the state police provide security to the protesting farmers at Delhi borders and Chief Minister Amarinder Singh terming it “arbitrary, absurd and irrational”.

    Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and parts of UP have been protesting at Delhi’s borders for over two months now, 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 government has offered some concessions including keeping the new farm laws on hold for 1-1.5 years and the Supreme Court has set up a panel to look into the matter while keeping the contentious legislation in abeyance for two months.

    However, the agitating farmer unions have rejected both and intensified their stir.

  • Took political support for farmers’ movement only after democracy was mocked: Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI
    GHAZIABAD: The Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) had not allowed political parties in the movement against new central farm laws but took political support “only after democracy was mocked” at protest sites, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait said Sunday.

    Tikait made the remark as hundreds of farmers reached a key protest site on the Delhi-Meerut highway in Ghazipur on the national capital’s border with Uttar Pradesh where they danced to upbeat tunes, creating a festive atmosphere as more supporters continued to pour in.

    Security measures were strengthened with multi-layer barricading that included iron and concrete structures, while barbed wires also came up on both sides of the highway stretch that has become the BKU’s camping site since November 28 last year in a major farmers’ stir over three new farm laws of the Centre.

    Farmers reached the Ghazipur border from western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand as a turban-clad Rakesh Tikait led the charge for the BKU, the appeal of which coupled with a clarion call from a January 29 “mahapanchayat” of farmers in Muzaffarnagar has re-energised the stir, which was fast losing its sheen and momentum after the Republic Day violence in Delhi.

    In response to a question, Tikait said, “the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) had not allowed political parties to enter the movement because our movement is apolitical. Support from political parties was taken only after democracy was mocked over the protests. But still, politicians are kept away from the stage of farmers’ protest.”

    On Sunday, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal reached Ghazipur.

    Besides him, regional leaders of Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Samajwadi Party also met with BKU office-bearers, extending their support in the fight for their demand for rollback of the new laws.

    “Modi saab nu kisaanan di mann di gal sunni chahidi hai (Prime Minister Narendra Modi should listen to the heart’s talk of the farmers),” said Badal, whose party broke ties from the BJP-led NDA over the contentious laws last year.

    Tikait said the farmer unions are hoping for a resolution of the deadlock through dialogue and if the prime minister wants to talk to the farmers, they will ensure dignity of the PM’s post but also protect their self-interest.

    On if and when will the farmers decide on talking to the government, Tikait said, “I am one of the 40 members of the farmers’ delegation but the decision on talks would be taken by the SKM committee.”

    According to the Ghaziabad administration, senior officials and police officers are regularly monitoring the situation at the Ghazipur border.

    Vehicles proceeding towards and coming from the protest site are being checked while drones were deployed for aerial monitoring at the site, which had thousands of protestors on Sunday, according to officials.

    “The situation is under control and is being regularly monitored,” an officer of the district administration said.

    The groups of farmers camping at the site braving the cold nights were seen dancing to folk tunes and songs eulogising the nation and farmers as some young protesters carried music systems to Ghazipur on their tractor-trollies.

    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 the 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.

  • Will honour PM’s dignity, but also protect farmers’ self-respect: Naresh Tikait

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Farmer leader Naresh Tikait Sunday said that protesting farmers will honour the dignity of prime minister, but are also committed to protect their own self-respect, a day after Narendra Modi said his government was just a “phone call away” for talks with them.

    Tikait said the government should “release our men and prepare an environment conducive for talks”.

    “A respectful solution should be reached. We will never agree to anything under pressure,” he told PTI at the Ghazipur border between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi had Saturday said his government’s offer on agri laws made to protesting farmers “still stands” and it was a just “phone call away” for talks, days after violence broke out in parts of the national capital on Republic Day.

    “We will honor and respect the dignity of prime minister. Farmers don’t want that the government or Parliament bows down to them,” Tikait said.

    “Will also ensure that the self-respect of farmers is protected. A middle way should be found. Talks should be held,” he added.

    During their January 26 parade, 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.

    Tikait said, “The violence on January 26 was part of a conspiracy. The Tricolor is over and above everything. We will never let anyone disrespect it. It will not be tolerated,” he said.

    The Delhi Police has registered nearly 40 cases and made over 80 arrests in connection with the violence and vandalism.

    “The government should release our men and prepare an environment conducive for talks. A respectful solution should be reached. We will never agree to anything under pressure,” Tikait asserted.

    In his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast Sunday, Prime Minister Modi also referred to the Red Fort incident, saying the country was much pained at seeing the dishonour to the Tricolour on Republic Day.

  • Amid tight security, farmers’ protest enters day 67; next meeting with Centre on February 2

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Heightened security deployment has continued at the Singhu border (Delhi-Haryana border) as farmers’ protest against three agriculture laws entered the 67th day on Sunday. The next round of talks between the farmers and the Centre is scheduled for February 2.

    While the protest at Ghazipur border by the farmers (Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border) has entered Day 65. Security has been beefed up as more farmers are coming to the protest site for the past two-three days.

    “Government is changing the goal-post. It is a bad thing. They are not taking any decision. The government should repeal the laws. It will be better for the farmers and the government,” Shyam, a protesting farmer at Ghazipur border told ANI.

    Another farmer Ram Beer Singh said, “We will not accept the proposal. We will continue to protest. We have not done anything bad and we want the repeal of the laws.”

    Protestors were seen raising slogans against the central government. They were demanding the repeal of farm laws.

    They were also seen sitting on ‘relay hunger strike’.

    ALSO READ | Stir against agri laws regains momentum after Tikait mobilises support from UP, Punjab

    “Since December 22, 2020, we are organising relay hunger where 11 farmers sit on hunger strike for 24 hours. Farmers are ready for talks with the government if they have good intention. We are always ready for talks,” Tajinder Singh Virk, a farmer leader said.

    To ‘maintain public safety and averting public emergency’, the Union Home Ministry has temporarily suspended internet services at the three borders and their adjoining areas from 11 pm of January 29 to 11 pm of January 31. The Haryana government has also extended the suspension of internet services in 17 districts till 5 pm on January 31. The Delhi Police has also closed the NH-24 route.

    During all party-meeting on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated that the proposal of government given to farmers on January 22 still stands and should be communicated to all by the leaders of the political parties.

    PM Modi has also said that Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar was just a phone call away for protestors.

    On January 22, during the 11th round of talks with protesting farmers, the government proposed to suspend the new legislations for one-and-a-half years and also proposed to set up a joint committee to discuss the Acts.

    The tension between the government and farmers protesting the farm laws has escalated after the violence which broke out in various parts of the national capital during the farmers’ tractor rally on Republic Day.

    ALSO READ | Let government tell farmers why can’t it repeal farm laws, we will not let it bow its head: Tikait

    On Republic Day, protestors did not follow the prearranged route and broke barricades to enter Delhi, clashed with police and vandalised property in several parts of the national capital during the farmers’ tractor rally organised to protest against the Centre’s three new farm laws. They also entered the Red Fort and unfurled their flags from its ramparts.

    Farmers have been protesting at different borders of the national capital since November 26, 2020, against the farm laws: 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.

  • Stir against agri laws regains momentum after Tikait mobilises support from UP, Punjab

    By PTI
    GHAZIABAD/NEW DELHI: The agitation against the farm laws appeared to regain momentum on Saturday after rallying support from the agricultural community of the crucial western Uttar Pradesh region, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed that his government’s proposal to protesting farmers stands and it is a “phone call away” for talks.

    Farmer leaders held a day-long fast on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary at the protest sites on the borders of the national capital including Ghazipur, on the Delhi-Meerut highway, that has now become the new focal point of the stir with more protesters converging there, days after the crowds had waned following the violence at the tractor rally on January 26.

    Agitating union leaders claimed that protesters were also heading back to Singhu and Tikri borders from Punjab and Haryana, The administration remained on high alert with Internet services temporarily suspended at the Singhu, Ghazipur, and Tikri borders of the national capital, as well as in the adjoining areas.

    Haryana has also suspended mobile internet services in 17 districts till Sunday evening.

    Security personnel, including anti-riot police and paramilitary forces, were deployed in strength.

    ALSO READ | PM Modi should talk to farmers: Gehlot on agri laws protests

    Multiple layers of barricades including concrete blocks had been put at the protest sites.

    Wearing garlands, the farmer leaders, who had called for observing ‘Sadbhavana Diwas’ (Harmony Day) on Saturday after the immense outrage over violence by protesters during their Republic Day tractor rally, sat on the dais during the fast.

    Addressing the protesters in Ghazipur, Bharatiya Kisan Union Rakesh Tikait, whose emotional appeal had galvanised farmers from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to flock to the protest site, said they have fought this battle for over two months now and “won’t relent or retreat”.

    “The movement was and is strong,” BKU’s Meerut Zone president Pawan Khatana said, a day after tens of thousands of farmers from politically sensitive western Uttar Pradesh had gathered in Muzaffarnagar to participate in a mahapanchayat in a massive outpouring of support for the agitation after Tikait broke down following administration’s attempt to remove the protesters on Thursday night.

    Till now, the agitation was seen as mainly being led by Punjab-based farmer unions.

    With the opposition gearing up to raise the issue of farmers’ agitation in Parliament, Prime Minister Modi told floor leaders of various political parties that his government’s offer on agri laws made to protesting farmers “still stands” and it was a “phone call away” for talks.

    At the customary all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of the Budget Session, the prime minister, responding to the references by opposition leaders about the “unfortunate incident” on Republic Day, said that the “law will take its own course”.

    “The prime minister assured that the Centre is approaching the farmers’ issue with an open mind,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said.

    “The prime minister said the Centre’s stand is same as it was on January 22, the last meeting between the protesting farmers and the Centre and proposal given by Agriculture Minister on the farm laws still stands. Modiji reiterated what Tomarji had said – that he (Narendra Singh Tomar) is a phone call away for talks,” Joshi said, quoting the prime minister.

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

    While the farmer unions have insisted that the laws be scrapped, the government has said it is ready to suspend the Acts for 18 months and carry out amendments.

    A multitude of green-and-white caps, symbolic of the unions spearheading the battle, union flags and the tricolour, planted on tractors, dotted the Delhi-Meerut highway on Saturday.

    On various tractors and camps, photos of legendary farmer leaders such as Chaudhary Charan Singh and Mahendra Singh Tikait have been put up.

    Villagers brought water in clay pots and home-made food for Rakesh Tikait in a show of solidarity, even as local authorities sent tankers of drinking water and mobile toilets at the protest site.

    Tikait urged the government to restore internet services.

    Khatana, who is at the demonstration site with Tikait, asserted that “it is not a political protest”.

    “Anybody who shares the ideology of the BKU and Rakesh Tikait is 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.

    Several opposition parties including the Congress, TMC, AAP, RLD, DMK and the Left have openly supported the stir and demanded that the Centre repeal the laws.

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

    Farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said in Chandigarh that he expects a record gathering by February 2 at the border points of Delhi.

    “People in large numbers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand are reaching the protest sites,” Rajewal claimed.

    He accused the Centre of instilling a sense of fear among people by showing pictures of Tuesday’s “unfortunate incidents”.

    Rajewal appealed to those joining the agitation at Delhi’s borders to keep the protest peaceful.

    “It is our responsibility to keep the agitation peaceful,” he stressed.

    The farmer leader urged the Centre to shun its “stubborn attitude” and withdraw the three farm laws.

    Asked about the next meeting between the protesting farmers and the government, he said, “When they call us, we will certainly go”.

    ALSO READ | New agri laws will undercut MSP procurement, Mandi system: Sharad Pawar

    To a question on joining the investigation following notices issued by the Delhi Police to farmer leaders in connection with the Republic Day violence, Rajewal said, “We will send them a reply.”

    The Delhi Police has issued the notices to around 20 farmer leaders, including Rajewal, over the violence during the farmers’ tractor parade, asking why legal action should not be taken against them.

    A team of forensic experts on Saturday visited the Red Fort, where the protesters had indulged in vandalism, hoisted a religious flag and attacked police personnel, to collect evidence.

    The Delhi Police has so far registered 38 cases and arrested 84 people in connection with the violence on Republic Day, officials said.

    The police received 1,700 video clips and CCTV footage from public and is taking help from forensic experts to analyse the material and identify the culprits, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) B K Singh said.

    He said the Crime Branch, which is investigating the nine cases related to the violence including at the Red Fort and ITO, is also examining dump data of mobile phone calls and registration numbers of tractors.

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

    Police had on Friday used tear gas and baton charge to break up a clash between farmers and a large group of men who claimed to be local residents at the Singhu border.

    The Delhi Traffic Police said movement on the National Highway 24 (Delhi-Meerut Expressway) has been stopped.

    Apart from the three borders of Delhi, internet services will remain suspended in their adjoining areas too effective from 11 pm of January 29 to 11 pm of January 31, a Union Home Ministry official said.

    The decision 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.

    Farmer unions claimed that protests were held in several parts of Punjab on Saturday.

    Thousands of farmers have been protesting since late November 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.

    Meanwhile, various Punjab unions on Saturday claimed that with more and more farmer groups marching towards Delhi, there would a be a record gathering of peasants and farm labourers on the borders of the national capital by February 2.

    Bharatiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) president Balbir Singh Rajewal said he expects a record gathering by February 2 at the border points of Delhi.

    ALSO READ | Government’s ‘efforts’ to crush farmers’ stir has only strengthened them: RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary

    Farmers and farm labourers at some places including Sangrur and Mohali in Punjab observed hunger strike in support of farmers’ agitation on Saturday.

    Protesting farmers even burnt effigies of the Centre at 400 places in 14 districts of Punjab against the new farm laws, demanding its repeal.

    “People from several areas area are heading towards Delhi borders to join the agitation,” said Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan on Saturday.

    “Our ‘jatha’ (group) of at least 700-800 tractors will leave for the Tikri border protest site on Sunday,” said Kokrikalan.

    He said only those people who went for participating in the January 26 tractor parade came back.

    He insisted that the laws enacted by the BJP-led central government would cause heavy damage to the farm sector of the country.

    BKU (Rajewal) leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said people in large numbers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand are reaching the protest sites.

    “Possibly by February 2, there will again a record gathering of people at the protest sites,” claimed Rajewal, insisting that it would be completely peaceful.

    Rajewal also appealed to the people joining the agitation at the Delhi border to keep the protest peaceful.

    He also asked them not to get provoked which otherwise would affect the ongoing peaceful agitation.

    To express solidarity with protesting farmers, panchayats of some villages in Bathinda, Ludhiana and Sangrur in Punjab even passed resolutions, asking villagers to send one person from each family to the protest sites, said farmer leaders.

    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 have been claiming that the new laws will weaken the MSP system, despite the Centre seeking to assure them in vain that the MSP system was here to stay and the new laws would only provide more options for farmers to sell their produce.

  • Let government tell farmers why can’t it repeal farm laws, we will not let it bow its head: Tikait

    By PTI
    GHAZIABAD: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait on Saturday asked the Centre to explain to farmers why it does not want to repeal the three farm laws, while promising it that they “will not let the government bow its head” before the world.

    TIkait appeared to make the conciliatory offer to the government from a position of strength amid swelling support for farmers’ stir with hundreds of villagers pouring in at the key protest site, Gazipur’s UP Gate on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.

    “What is the compulsion of the government that it is adamant on not repealing the new farm laws?,” asked Tikait, who has emerged virtually overnight as a potent face of farmers’ stir following his emotional appeal to the farming community against leaving the protest site.

    “The government can tell its reasons to farmers and we (farmers) are the kind of people who believe in the panchayat system. We will never let the government bow its head in shame in front of the world,” Tikait said, apparently striking a conciliatory note.

    “We have an ideological fight with the government, something which can neither be fought with sticks and guns nor suppressed by them. The farmers will return home only when the new laws are repealed,” the BKU national spokesperson asserted.

    The younger son of Bharatiya Kisan Union’s late president Mahendra Singh Tikait, made the assertion with hundreds of villagers, including women and children reaching the protest site at Delhi eastern border, during the day, some with water and homemade food and others with buttermilk — in a symbolic show of support for protestors.

    The day also saw more politicians throwing in their weight behind the Tikait’s growing strength and meeting him at the protest site.

    The BKU-led protest against the Centre’s new farm laws appeared to be fizzling out following the Republic Day violence in Delhi during the tractor rally, but more protestors joined the stir after a ‘mahapanchayat’ of farmers on Saturday in Muzaffarnagar.

    Addressing the protesting farmers, Tkait said farmers believe in the Gandhian principle of non-violence and have full faith in the Constitution and appealed to everyone for maintaining peace.

    “The farmers won’t mind if the police even baton-charged them but if goons of political parties dare touch them, neither the farmers nor their tractors would leave the site,” he asserted.

    “The tears that I shed the other day were not mine but of all farmers,” he added, imparting an emotional edge to his address.

    Politicians continued to reach the protest site at UP Gate for a second day, even as Tikait insisted that no political leader would be allowed on the central platform and meetings with them would happen only off stage.

    The political leaders who met Tkait on Saturday and extended his support to him included Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhay Chautala and Gujjar leader and former MLA Madan Bbhaiyya.

    Tikait’s spiritual guru and founder of Neelkanth Ashram Amit Maharaj also reached the protest site, carrying Gangajal for him.

    He gave the holy water to Tikait to consume and blessed him, paying God to give him the strength to transform the stir into a “mega movement” of farmers.

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

    Khatana said there has been continuous support for the “peaceful protest” against the farmers’ demand for removal of the new farm laws.

    Asked about the estimated crowd size at the site, he said, “Farmers are coming in to show the solidarity and leaving. It is not a stagnant crowd.”

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

    “Three super zonal magistrates, 14 zonal magistrate and 34 sector magistrates from the administration besides senior police officers are on the ground where law and order is under control,” Ghaziabad District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey told PTI.

    “Mobile toilets have been stationed at the protest site and water facilities have been restored,” he said, adding the situation was being monitored at the border.

    Internet services, however, will remain suspended till Sunday night in view of the Centre’s order to “maintain public safety and averting public emergency”, the administration said.

    Around 3,000 security personnel including those from the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), Rapid Action Force (RAF) in anti-riot gears and civil police, were deployed at the protest site, according to officials.

  • After Singhu, now tensions at Tikri border as ‘locals’ protest against farmers; BKU faction re-launches stir against agri laws

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Tikri border, one of the epicentres of the agitation against the Centre’s farm laws, witnessed tense moments on Friday as a group of people claiming to be locals staging a protest demanding removal of the farmers there.

    The group of around 30-40 people from nearby areas, carried national flags and raised slogans against the alleged “dishonour” of the Tricolour by the farmer protesters on January 26.

    “Everyone saw how the national flag was dishonoured at Red Fort during tractor rally by farmers. We cannot allow such elements to stay here and work against the country in the garb of farmers,” one of the group members said.

    Heavy police force present on the spot persuaded the group to go back after some time.

    “We have nothing against the farmers and their demands. But we also have our rights and problems. Our livelihood has been hit and we cannot move about freely due to closure of the border for over two months,” said another group member.

    ALSO READ | Farm laws: Badal attacks Modi government again; SAD cadres asked to reach protest sites

    The agitating farmers alleged that the BJP was behind the protest by the “so-called” locals.

    “After failing to break our resolve to continue the agitation against the farm laws, they are now sending goons to create mischief and disturbance,” one of the protesting farmers Vija said.

    In the evening, police further fortified the barricading at the border point by dumping earth and placing concrete blocks to prevent movement of vehicles towards Delhi.

    In a similar protest at Singhu Border, police fired tear gas and resorted to baton charge Friday to break up a clash between farmers and a large group of men claiming to be local residents who hurled stones at each other.

    The Delhi Police said 44 people including a man who attacked SHO (Alipur) Pradeep Paliwal with a sword have been arrested on charges of attempt to murder and obstructing public servant, among others.

    The man who attacked Paliwal has been identified as Ranjeet Singh, 22, from Punjab, an official said.

    On Friday around 1.30 PM, about 200 local villagers reached the Singhu border, a senior police officer said.

    They went to meet the leaders of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee faction at the Alipur red light to demand that the protesters vacate the area and open the border, he said.

    “They said that they have been providing all kind of help to the protesters for the last two months but now the protest is affecting their livelihood. Hence, they requested them to vacate the road. They had come on Thursday as well with the same request,” Additional Delhi Police PRO Anil Mittal said.

    ALSO READ | Give up adamant attitude, repeal farm laws: Congress leader Harish Rawat to Centre

    Some farmers resisted and pushing and pulling of the police barricades, which had been erected to secure the langar tents, ensued.

    Later, stone pelting started, the police said.

    While SHO Paliwal was trying to convince the farmers to stop stone pelting from their side, he was suddenly attacked by Singh, who was overpowered and apprehended at the spot, they said.

    The SHO sustained grievous injuries and five other police personnel were also injured, the senior officer said.

    A case has been registered at the Alipur police station and investigation taken up, the police said.

    However, the protesters claimed that those who visited the protest site were not locals but goons armed with sticks.

    “They are not locals, but hired goons. They were throwing stones, petrol bombs at us. They attempted to burn down our trolleys also. We are here to resist them. We won’t leave the place,” said Harkirat Mann Beniwal, 21, from Punjab’s Khana district.

    Some videos from the protest site purportedly showed a group raising the slogan of ‘goli maro salon ko’.

    Meanwhile, nine farmers were arrested by the police for attacking one of its personnel at the Burari protest site.

    ALSO READ | Red Fort violence: Delhi Police asks nine farmer leaders to join investigation; more arrests made

    Several farmers have been camping at the DDA Ground in Burari on the outskirts of the national capital since November 28 against the Centre’s three agriculture laws.

    A team of Forensic Science Laboratory also reached Delhi’s Ghazipur border on Friday, three days after the farmers’ tractor parade turned violent, leaving 394 security personnel injured and one agitator dead.

    The team is collecting forensic evidence at the Ghazipur border, officials said.

    The Delhi Police has urged people to share any evidence or information about the Republic Day 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 kisanandolanriots. 26jain2021@gmmail. com,” the appeal stated.

    Thousands of protesting farmers had clashed with the police during the tractor rally called by farmer unions on January 26 to highlight their demand for repeal of the Centre’s three farm laws.

    Many of the protesters, driving tractors, reached the Red Fort and entered the monument.

    Some protesters even 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.

    Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lok Shakti) on Friday re-launched its stir over the new farm laws, just a day after it had announced withdrawing its protest in Noida.

    BKU (Lok Shakti) chief Thakur Sheoraj Singh Bhati called on the union’s supporters, who were camping at the Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida, to now reach Ghazipur border, where BKU members are staying put.

    In a video message, Singh also appealed to BKU (Lok Shakti) supporters in western Uttar Pradesh to reach the farmers’ mahapanchayat that was convened in Muzaffarnagar.

    “Yesterday, an MLA of Ghaziabad had reached Ghazipur protest site along with his armed supporters. This act has distressed the soul of (BKU leader) Rakesh Tikait. An announcement was made regarding his arrest and ending of the protest there, but the MLA vitiated the atmosphere there and Tikait broke down,” Bhati said.

    “BKU (Lok Shakti) will not tolerate any policy of suppression. The government or administration can take any action but no MLA or public representative can act cruelly with the farmers and BKU (Lok Shakti) will not tolerate this,” he added.

    ALSO READ | Grand Alliance to organise human chain in Bihar against farm laws

    Bhati said his faction will stand shoulder to shoulder with Tikait’s BKU in the fight against the new contentious farm laws.

    BKU (Lok Shakti) had been camping at the Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida since December 2, demanding the rollback of the three new farm laws, legalization of the minimum support price for crops and implementation of recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee report.

    Bhati, the faction’s national president, had Thursday announced ending the protest in view of the violence during farmers’ tractor parade in Delhi on Republic Day.

    He and some other of his union members later Thursday also met with Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

    On the union chief’s call, office bearers of BKU (Lok Shakti) attended the mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar, while scores of supporters reached Ghazipur border to join the stir there on Friday evening.