News Analysis India

Tag: Farmers Protest in India

  • Stopped at Ghazipur border, Opposition MPs say farmers are ‘denied basic rights’

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: In protest against the farm laws, a delegation of 15 MPs from 10 opposition parties, led by Shiromani Akali Dal’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal, went to Ghazipur border on Thursday. But they were stopped by the police before they could reach the protest site.

    Badal said they were not allowed to cross the barricades and reach the place where protesters have gathered.

    ​“Today, 15 MPs representing different political parties from Kashmir to Kanyakumari went to Ghazipur border to express solidarity with the farmers and demand immediate repeal of the three hated farm laws. We also demand an end to atrocities being meted out to peacefully agitating farmers,” she tweeted.

    ​ALSO READ | Please understand farmers’ pain, stop your monologue: Opposition tears into government

    Supriya Sule of NCP, Kanimozhi and Tiruchi Siva from the DMK, Saugata Roy from TMC were part of the delegation. Members of the National Conference, RSP and IUML were also part of it. They later wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that they were not allowed to meet the farmers.

    “In our culture, it is called Annadata Sukhi Bhav. The farmer is our breadwinner. We all feel that for him to be happy, the central government must take a step forward and listen to his grievances and come up with a satisfactory solution,” Sule said.

    “Struggling farmers are denied basic rights, including drinking water and internet service. The government treats them like enemies,” Kanimozhi said, before setting off for the border. The Budget Session of the Parliament has seen vociferous protests from the opposition benches. Government has maintained it is open to talks.

    ​ALSO READ | Farmers’ protest: ‘Calling us terrorists is government’s propaganda to destroy our movement’

    February 6 blockade: Amit Shah reviews safety measures

    Two days ahead of the chakka jam (nationwide roadblock) called by the farmers, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had an emergency meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Delhi Police Commissioner SN Srivastava and Director of Intelligence Bureau Arvind Kumar to discuss preparations. 

    Farmers have said they would block roads from 12 noon to 3 pm on Saturday. Sources said there are intelligence inputs that anti-social elements may try to create trouble on that day. Security officials have been asked to take measures to ensure there is no repeat of the January 26 violence in Delhi.

    ​The home minister, sources said, has asked top security officials to ensure safety and security of farmers, police and everyone else. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait said a three-hour ‘chakka jaam’ will take place on February 6 but not in Delhi.

  • Freelance journalist detained at Singhu border for allegedly ‘misbehaving with police’

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A freelance journalist was detained at the Singhu border on Saturday for allegedly misbehaving with the police, officials said.

    Barricades had been placed at the border following the violence on Friday to ensure that no one could get through, a senior police officer said.

    Some people including the journalist were trying to remove the barricades.

    The journalist also misbehaved with police personnel and was detained, the officer said.

    On Friday, clashes broke out between farmers and a large group of men claiming to be local residents who hurled stones at each other at the Singhu border, one of the main protest sites against the new farm laws.

    Delhi Police SHO (Alipur) was injured in the violence.

    At least 44 people, including the man who attacked the SHO, have been arrested in connection with the incident.

    ALSO WATCH:

  • ‘No question of closing the door on talks with government’: Samyukta Kisan Morcha

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha spearheading the agitation against the Centre’s three agri laws said on Saturday that there was no question of closing the door on talks with the government.

    The farmer union’s statement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi told an all-party meeting earlier in the day that his government’s offer on agri laws made to the protesting farmers “still stands” and it was a “phone call away” for talks.

    The protesting farmer leaders observed ‘Sadbhavana Diwas’ on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary and held a day-long fast at various protest sites on Delhi borders.

    According to a release issued by Morcha leader Darshan Pal, “Farmers have come all the way to the doorsteps of Delhi to converse with their elected government and therefore, there is no question of the farmer organisations closing the door on talks with the government.”

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

    The last meeting between representatives of protesting farmers and the Centre was held on January 22.

    The unions continue to seek repeal of the three farm laws and a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops, the Morcha statement said.

    Prime Minister Modi told the all-party meeting that his government’s offer on agri laws made to protesting farmers “still stands” and it was a “phone call away” for talks, days after the violence during farmers’ tractor rally in the national capital on Republic Day.

    The Morcha also “condemned” alleged attempts of police to “weaken and destroy” the farmers movement.

    “It is clear that the police is encouraging various attacks on peaceful protesters. The continuous violence by police and BJP goons clearly shows the palpable fear within the government,” Pal claimed in the statement.

    The one-day fast was observed at all borders of Delhi and all over India.

    The farmers took a pledge to continue their movement peacefully, the statement said.

    Reports of farmers observing farmers in various parts of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and other states were received, it said.

    In Bihar, Sadbhavana Diwas was marked with long human chains in different districts of the state including Muzaffarpur and Nalanda, it added.

    ALSO WATCH:

    Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh demanding the 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 protest took a violent turn during the farmers’ tractor rally on January 26.

    Enacted in September 2020, the central government has presented these laws as major farm reforms aimed at increasing farmers’ income, but the protesting farmers have raised concerns that these legislations would weaken the minimum support price (MSP) and “mandi” (wholesale market) systems and leave them at the mercy of big corporations.

    The government has maintained that these apprehensions are misplaced and ruled out a repeal of the laws.

  • Randeep Surjewala asks Haryana govt to immediately restore mobile internet services in state

    By ANI
    CHANDIGARH: Condemning the Haryana government’s decision to stop mobile internet services in the state, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala on Saturday demanded “immediate” resumption of services.

    The Haryana government on Friday suspended all mobile internet, SMS, and dongle services in 17 districts including Sonipat, Palwal, and Jhajjar till 5 pm on January 30. The voice calls, however, are exempted as earlier from the suspension.

    ​The districts under the fresh suspension order include Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Kaithal, Panipat, Hisar, Jind, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Fatehabad, Rewari, and Sirsa.The suspension came after violence took place in the national capital during the farmers’ tractor rally on Republic Day.

    ALSO READ | Farmers’ protest: Internet snapped at Delhi borders for two days

    Surjewala issued a release in which he said that the Khattar-Chautala government in Haryana has stopped the mobile internet services in the state with the intention to crush the farmers’ agitation.

    He said that during this Corona pandemic period, the persons working from home, school-college and university students, the traders and shopkeepers availing mobile banking services and the common people are inconvenienced by the move.

    “These days various examinations are going on and during such times disruption in mobile internet services has been putting the students appearing in examinations in distress,” the Congress leader said.

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    He said that the BJP-JJP Government has been “so engrossed in its evil designs to crush and discredit the farmers’ agitation that it seems to be least bothered about the grave inconvenience being caused to the common people on account of government’s wrong decisions.”

    “This government should not be under any illusion to treat the peacefully agitating farmers as a vulnerable lot and the persecution of farmers shall not be tolerated under any circumstances and the entire opposition and the people of the country are in rock solid support with the farmers,” he added. 

  • Arundhati Roy backs farmers, says new laws will break the backbone of agriculture sector

    By PTI
    PUNE: Eminent novelist and essayist Arundhati Roy on Saturday came out in support of the farmers who are agitating on Delhi borders, and said the new farm laws which they are opposing will help only the corporate sector.

    Speaking at Elgar Parishad, a conclave, Roy also slammed the BJP governments at the centre and in states over issues such as anti-conversion laws and lockdown.

    “It is very important for us to stand by the farmers,” the Man Booker award-winning writer said.

    “The new agriculture laws will break the backbone of the farm sector and give the control to the corporates,” she said, alleging that the Union government was trying to discredit the agitation.

    ​ALSO READ | Ghazipur border: Resolve grows stronger, farmers say movement not affected by January 26 incident

    Roy referred to arrests of several Left-leaning activists including Sudha Bharadwaj under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act following the December 2017 Elgar Parishad in Pune.

    As in the the case of ongoing farmers’ movement, there were attempts to discredit the Elgar Parishad and the activists associated with it by terming them as `urban naxals’, she alleged.

    All the jailed activists should be released immediately, she demanded.

    “During the lockdown when lakhs of people lost their jobs, the wealth of industrialists grew by 35 per cent,” she charged.

    She also blasted the BJP-led Union government for announcing lockdown for coronavirus in March last year with only four hours’ notice, calling it an “ambush”.

    Criticizing the ordinances issued by BJP-ruled states to penalize `fraudulent’ religious conversions, Roy said many Muslim youths and families have been targeted under the garb of these laws.

    ALSO WATCH:

    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.

  • At all-party meeting, Trinamool Congress requests Centre to repeal farm laws

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Saturday appealed to the government to withdraw the three contentious farm laws at an all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the smooth conduct of the Budget Session of Parliament.

    According to sources, TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay told the meeting that the prime minister must convene an all-party meeting for a threadbare discussion on the farmer issue.

    “This will send a good message that the government is democratic. Twenty opposition parties boycotted the President’s address (to the joint sitting of Parliament) which sent out a strong message for the government to withdraw the farm laws. Majoritarianism cannot let farmers suffer,” a source quoted the TMC MP as having told the meeting.

    Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh demanding the 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 protest took a violent turn during the farmers’ tractor rally on January 26.

    Addressing the all-party meeting, the prime minister said his government’s offer on agri laws made to protesting farmers “still stands” and it was a “phone call away” for talks.

    At Saturday’s meeting, several leaders including Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress, Balwinder Singh Bhunder of the Shiromani Akali Dal and Vinayak Raut of the Shiv Sena raised the issue of protesting farmers, sources said.

    TMC MP Bandyopadhyay also asked how could the President in his address to Parliament note that the ‘one nation, one ration card’ policy had been introduced when the Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution was discussing the matter.

    “The report is yet to be submitted. But (I am) surprised that the President’s address said the policy had already been introduced. This has to be clarified,” he was quoted as saying.

    Sources said the TMC MP also raised the issues of unemployment and hunger and proposed a comprehensive debate on them in the House.

    He also suggested that the federal structure has been weakened making it “very difficult” for states.

    “Our parliamentary democratic system has to be established firmly and the philosophy of secularism, communal harmony and unity of the country has to be reflected upon in a proper manner,” the TMC MP was quoted as telling the all-party meeting.

    ALSO WATCH:

  • Congress MP Partap Singh Bajwa urges Amarinder Singh to use resources to find ‘missing farmers’

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Congress MP Partap Singh Bajwa on Saturday urged Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to use all available sources to trace over 100 farmers who have been “missing” since January 26 tractor rally in Delhi.

    Citing some media reports, Bajwa wrote to Amarinder Singh, saying “over 100 farmers from the state have been missing since the incidents that occurred on January 26 in Delhi”.

    There has been no word to the families regarding their status or present conditions, claimed the Rajya Sabha MP.

    “I urge you to use all resources available to the government of Punjab to trace these farmers and ensure their return,” wrote Bajwa.

    ​ALSO READ | Punjab CM Amarinder Singh blames AAP for ‘attack’ on Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu

    “It is extremely worrying that Punjabi farmers have been detained with no information being shared with their families or lawyers,” he added in his letter.

    Citing the stone-pelting incident at Delhi’s Singhu border on Friday, Bajwa, in a statement here, also urged the CM to deploy the Punjab police personnel for the safety of protesting farmers at protest sites.

    “We all witnessed the violence that was unleashed against protesting farmers at the Singhu border. It is quite clear that our farmers are under threat from various groups who wish to malign their peaceful protests,” he claimed.

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

    “Given the present situation, I further urge you to deploy Punjab Police personnel immediately to ensure the safety of our farmers,” he said.

    Police had fired tear gas shells and resorted to baton charge on 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 at the Singhu border, one of the main protest sites against farm laws.

    Farmers from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh have been camping at Delhi borders for several weeks, demanding the repeal of the farm laws and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price for crops.

    ALSO WATCH:

  • ‘The new messiah’: Rakesh Tikait is cynosure of many eyes, not just farmers

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: His tears exercised an emotive pull even he may not have envisaged, helping turn the tide for a movement that seemed to have lost both sheen and momentum after the violence on Republic Day.

    It was but a moment in time and Rakesh Tikait was the man in it.

    He was once a Delhi Police constable, tried his hand at electoral politics and been a farmer leader for years.

    But Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Tikait has broken out of the confines of western Uttar Pradesh to find a space in the national spotlight as arguably the most powerful farm leader of the day.

    The two-month farmer movement against the Centre’s three farm laws was till now dominated by protesters from the fields of Punjab and Haryana who set up camp at the Singhu and Tikri border points into the city.

    ALSO READ | Bhim Army chief meets Rakesh Tikait at Ghazipur border, offers help to strengthen farmers’ protest

    Now, the focus has shifted to Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border where farmers are gathering in thousands to boost the fight that seemed to have been weakening only two days ago.

    A day after the Republic Day violence in Delhi, when a section of farmers taking part in the tractor parade broke through barriers, clashed with police and stormed the Red Fort for a few hours, the farmer game it seemed to be over.

    Morale plummeted and many farmers returned home.

    On Wednesday night, the atmosphere was tense at Ghazipur.

    The Ghaziabad administration issued an ‘ultimatum’ to the protesters occupying a stretch of the Delhi-Meerut expressway to vacate as the January 26 clashes painted a not-so-peaceful picture of the peasant community.

    And then came the Tikait moment.

    As security presence at the site escalated and fears grew that the protesters would be forcibly evicted, an emotional Tikait broke down while talking to reporters.

    “The protest won’t be called off. Farmers are being met with injustice,” he said and even threatened to end his life for the cause.

    It soon emerged that the 51-year-old who was leading BKU supporters at the Ghazipur border since November 28, was no ordinary man at all.

    His call for continuing the protest against the government struck a deep emotional chord.

    Videos of his emotional outburst were circulated across multiple platforms.

    It led to his brother Naresh Tikait calling a ‘mahapanchayat’ at their home town in Muzaffarnagar on Friday where tens of thousands of farmers gathered to back the movement.

    ALSO READ | Tractor parade violence: Yogendra Yadav, Rakesh Tikait, Patkar among 37 leaders named in FIR

    The crowd at Ghazipur border that had reduced to 500 on Thursday night grew manifold over the next 12 hours, running into well over 5,000 in next 24 hours.

    The farmer movement was not just revived but further energised.

    Tikait, who has been part of a delegation talking with the Centre over the ongoing protest, is also one of the accused in the January 26 violence in Delhi that saw one farmer dying when his tractor overturned and hundreds of people, including police personnel, being injured.

    He has denied the allegations of conspiracy and demanded a judicial probe into the violence, blaming infiltrators in the tractors’ parade of the unrest.

    To be named as an accused by the Delhi Police is perhaps strange for Tikait, who served as a head constable in the force but quit in 1992-93 when he had to deal with a farmers’ agitation led by his father, the legendary Mahendra Singh Tikait.

    Born on June 4, 1969 in Sisauli village of Muzaffarnagar district in western Uttar Pradesh, Rakesh Tikait joined BKU after quitting the Delhi Police and gained prominence as a farm leader after the death of his father to cancer in May 2011.

    Mahendra Tikait, who was hailed as ‘messiah’ of farmers, had inherited the ‘Chaudhary’ title of the regional Baliyan khap (a social and administrative system in parts of north India) at the age of eight from his father.

    Going by the tradition of the khap, the title passed on to his elder son and Rakesh Tikait’s elder brother Naresh.

    But Rakesh Tikait, a BA graduate from the Meerut University, was designated national spokesperson of the BKU.

    He has two younger brothers — Surendra, who works as a manager in a sugar mill, and Narendra, engaged in agriculture.

    The father of three — two daughters and a son — has been at loggerheads with various governments on a range of farmers’ issues, including loan waivers, minimum support price (MSP), power tariff and land acquisition in states such as UP, Haryana Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh.

    He also tried his hand at elections but lost both times.

    In 2007, he contested the UP Assembly polls from Khatauli constituency in Muzaffarnagar as an independent candidate.

    In 2014, he fought the Lok Sabha election from Amroha district on a Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) ticket.

    It’s an affluent family.

    Ahead of the 2014 polls, Tikait had declared assets worth Rs 4.25 crore, including Rs 10 lakh cash, and liabilities of Rs 10.95 lakh with land worth over Rs 3 crore forming the biggest chunk of his assets.

    He also declared three criminal cases against him in the election affidavit.

    These cases were lodged in Meerut and Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, and Anuppur in Madhya Pradesh.

    The vocal farmer leader had to spend nights behind the bars for defying public servant’s orders during several of the protests that he has led in the past decade.

    Having dug in his heels along with his supporters at the Ghazipur border amid a deadlock with the Centre over the new farm laws, Tikait on Saturday was once again teary eyed.

    But this time overwhelmed by emotion as villagers, including children, reached the protest site carrying water, homemade food and buttermilk, after he announced he would drink water only when farmers will bring it since the local administration had barred water tankers at the protest site.

    Rakesh Tikait is now the cynosure of many eyes — and it’s not just farmers.

  • Protesters in Shahjahanpur border vow to continue stir till farm laws are ‘repealed’

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: Farmers continued to protest at Shahjahanpur border in Rajasthan’s Alwar district on Friday, vowing to continue the agitation till the farm laws are repealed.

    On the same day, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party MP Hanuman Beniwal staged a walk out from Lok Sabha demanding the repeal of the farm laws.

    Beniwal”s party was an ally of the NDA government at Centre and had announced separation over the demand to repeal the laws.

    Meanwhile, Kisan Mahapanchayat leader Rampal Jat announced their separation with the Sanyukt Morcha, but said he would continue the protest.

    ​ALSO READ | Bhim Army chief meets Rakesh Tikait at Ghazipur border, offers help to strengthen farmers’ protest

    “It seems that a conspiracy was hatched by the government as it is a fact that the persons who instigated the farmers on Republic Day have not been arrested,” Jat said.

    The farmers’ rally will continue across all the districts, but not on roads, he added.

    Beniwal showed a placard and raised slogans demanding repeal of the laws during the President’s address in Parliament and later staged a walk out.

    “The Centre should withdraw the laws or else this public movement would intensify. The farmers are protesting without any violence so their demands should be fulfilled. The RLP had supported the NDA in view that would listen to farmers and youth, but to no avail,” he said.

    The RLP condemns what happened at Red Fort, he added.

    All India Kisan Sabha vice president Amra Ram said those who hoisted flag at Red Fort were not part of the Sanyukt Morcha.

    ALSO WATCH:

    “The government is suppressing voice of farmers. But, we will continue our protest. We will keep a day-long fast on Saturday. Our sit-in protest will continue till the demands are met,” he said.

    In Bharatpur, farmers led by Manudev Sinsini staged protests, raised slogans and burnt effigy of the government at the Centre.

    The farmers gathered at the power house in favour of farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, who is protesting in Ghazipur.

    “Farmers will gather in next three days and thereafter start a tractor rally for Delhi on February 1 to join others participating in the protest. The farmers are 65 of the population of the country and are capable to teach lesson to the government,” he said.

  • Civil society members appeal for repealing new farm laws, seek withdrawal of FIRs against journalists

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Civil society members, including Aruna Roy, Prashant Bhushan and Harsh Mander, appealed on Friday for repealing of the three farm laws, enacting a legislation to guarantee MSP and withdrawing all cases filed under UAPA against farmer leaders.

    In a joint statement, a national call was given by civil society to stand in solidarity with the farmers’ movement on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary on Saturday.

    “This is a call for a fast during the day on January 30 and to keep a minute of silence across the country at 5 pm, to express solidarity with all struggles, satyagrahas and peaceful non-violent movements with a commitment to democratic and ethical probity,” they said.

    ​ALSO READ | Bhim Army chief meets Rakesh Tikait at Ghazipur border, offers help to strengthen farmers’ protest

    “We appeal to all people and groups to fast and keep a minute of silence tomorrow and organise different kinds of public events to uphold peaceful struggles,” it said.

    They also appealed for repealing the three farm laws, enacting a legislation to guarantee MSP and withdrawing all cases filed under UAPA against farmer leaders, it said.

    The activists demanded that the FIR filed in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday against journalists must be withdrawn and a free-and-fair investigation should take place into the violence on Republic Day.

    The appeal was issued by former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha, former Navy chief Admiral L Ramdas, advocate Prashant Bhuhsan, former chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, activists Harsh Mander and Shabnam Hashmi, former Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed, among others.

    ALSO READ | Farmers to hold ‘Sadbhavna Diwas’ on January 30, observe day-long fast

    “Despite the clear, unequivocal condemnation by farmers leaders, of any violence on January 26, the government has activated the criminal justice machinery to lodge FIRs against them under a range of criminal laws, including shockingly an anti-terror law, the UAPA,” they said.

    This is now becoming a familiar playbook of the ruling establishment, last seen when the citizenship movement against the CAA-NRC and its young leadership was similarly “vilified, terrorised”, charged under the UAPA and arrested, they said.

    “The fake state narrative of the farmers movement as a ‘violent conspiracy’ against India, is an exact copy-paste of the narrative we saw last year around the anti-CAA movement, once again being spun to try and tar and suppress the democratic voices of our people.

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    “Violent mobs are being deliberately incited, to target individual farmers leaders and at protest sites. Again, a page from the familiar playbook of last year,” it said.

    A press conference was organised today In support of the farmers’ movement and to strongly condemn the government’s attempt to criminalise and break” a legitimate people’s movement.

    It was addressed by Bhushan, Hashmi, Gandhi Peace Foundation secretary Kumar Prashant, economist Atul Sood and Nation For Farmers co-convener Dinesh Abrol.