News Analysis India

Tag: Farmers Protest

  • Several stranded in Jammu & Kashmir as 40 trains cancelled due to farmers’ protest in Punjab

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Thousands of passengers are stranded in Jammu and Kashmir as railway authorities have cancelled over 40 trains since Friday due to an ongoing agitation by farmers in neighbouring Punjab, officials said.

    Scores of farmers on Friday launched an indefinite agitation in Jalandhar and blocked train movement on the Ludhiana-Amritsar and the Ludhiana-Jammu railway routes to press the Punjab government to accept their demand to increase sugarcane prices and clear issues related to pending dues. “A total of 40 trains were cancelled since yesterday (Friday),” an official of the Northern Railways told PTI on Saturday.

    He said only a few trains left the Jammu railway station on a different route on Friday, while early Saturday morning rains in Delhi forced cancellation of some more trains bound for Jammu. “Twenty trains were cancelled on Saturday. Some trains scheduled later in the day are likely to leave the Jammu station for their destinations,” the official said.

    The cancellation of trains has left thousands of passengers stranded in Jammu and they were seen making desperate attempts to get information from railway authorities. “We had come for the Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrimage and came to know that all the trains have got cancelled due to the farmers’ agitation in Punjab,” Neha, a young woman from Haryana, said as she looked for buses or taxis to leave with her family.

    Another passenger from Ballia in Uttar Pradesh said, “The farmers should have given a 10-day ultimatum before launching the agitation so that people could plan their trip accordingly.”

    He said that his train was scheduled at 2 pm but its cancellation has left him and his family members stranded. “A traveller usually has a limited budget. How can I feed myself and other family members?” he said requesting the Punjab government to hold talks with the farmers as soon as possible and lift the blockades.

  • Farmers’ protest hits train movement, road traffic in Jalandhar for second day

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Farmers seeking a hike in sugarcane prices blocked rail tracks and a national highway in Jalandhar on Saturday, impacting movement of trains and vehicular traffic.

    According to railway officials of Ferozepur division, as many as 50 trains have been cancelled, while 54 have either been diverted or short-terminated.

    Scores of farmers had on Friday, August 20, 2021, launched an agitation for an indefinite period to press the Punjab government to accept their demands related to pending dues of sugarcane and hike in cane prices.

    On Saturday, they refused to lift the blockade till their demands were met.

    Emergency vehicles have, however, been allowed to ply, they added.

    Protesters have blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara stretch of the national highway near Dhanowali village of Jalandhar district.

    The blockade affected traffic to and from Jalandhar, Amritsar and Pathankot, though the administration diverted traffic through some alternative routes.

    Farmers sitting on the Jalandhar-Chaheru section have blocked the Ludhiana-Amritsar and the Ludhiana-Jammu rail tracks in Jalandhar, affecting several trains, including the Amritsar-New Delhi Shatabdi and Amritsar-New Delhi Shane-e-Punjab.

    They are demanding that the Punjab government raise the state assured price (SAP) of sugarcane and clear payment of arrears to the tune of Rs 200-250 crore.

  • Punjab launches Rs 520 crore debt relief scheme for 2.85 lakh farm labourers, farmers

    By Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH: Asserting his continued support to the farmers agitating against the three farm laws, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday launched a Rs 520 crore debt relief scheme for 2.85 lakh farm labourers and landless farmers. As some 15.7 lakh landless farmers and farm labourers constitute 48% of the state’s 32.7 lakh rural households (Census of 2011). Another 9.8 lakh were rural cultivating households (30%). The people engaged in agriculture account for 78% of rural households.

    CM Amarinder said his government had decided to waive off loans amounting to Rs 520 crores of farm labour and landless farmers with respect to the principal amount against their cooperative loans as of July 31, 2017, and simple interest at 7% per annum on the above amount till March 6, 2019. It is noteworthy that the state government had earlier waived off Rs 4700 crore worth of loans (up to Rs 2 lakh of crop loans each) for 5.85 lakh Small and Marginal farmers.

    Declaring that his “heart is with the farmers who are protesting at the Delhi borders”, he made it clear that he does not agree with the stand taken by the central government, who are not listening to the farmers. “We have amended the Constitution 127 times, so why are we not doing it now? Why is the Government of India standing on prestige on the issue of the Farm Laws,” he asked, adding that he had categorically urged the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister to repeal the legislation.”

    ALSO READ |  Punjab CM Amarinder Singh meets Sidhu, sets up panel for coordination ahead of assembly polls

    Amarinder said he had been asked to stop Punjab farmers from going to Delhi “but I never stopped as everyone has the right to protest in the national capital; protest is a democratic right.” “These small farmers are not fighting for themselves but for their coming generations,” he said, questioning why the Centre could not see the pain of the protesting farmers. These farmers are mostly those who own an average of 2.5 acres of land, he pointed out, recalling that during a visit to Poland long back he had seen that country increasing the landceiling from the existing 40 acres to 100 acres as families could not feed themselves with such small land holdings. “So you can imagine what will happen to those who have just 2.5 acres,” he remarked, asking “how will they feed their families if the new laws are imposed on them?”

    Pointing out that around 400 farmers had died, he said his government was giving Rs 5 lakh to the families of the state’s farmers who had lost their jobs. In addition, they were being given jobs, and 200 had already got their appointment letters, he said, adding that the Centre need to protect the MSP and the market system as well as the age-old relationship between the farmers and the Arhtiyas in the interest of the nation.

    In a token gesture to launch the scheme at Anandpur Sahib, Amarinder personally handed over cheques to 21 farm labourers and landless labourers, with Ministers and MLAs set to disburse the cheques to all others over the next few days.

    Besides free power to farmers, which he said “will continue till I am there”, his government had ensured nine hassle-free procurement seasons with timely payments and had launched Mission Lal Lakir to create land records within the Lal Lakir and provide easier access to credit, said Amarinder. Further, he said he had written to the Prime Minister to amend the Legal Services Act to enable Free Legal Aid to farmers for any revenue civil or criminal case.

     

  • ‘New farm laws need improvement’: Bharatiya Kisan Sangh calls for legislation on MSP

    By PTI

    NAGPUR: The RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) on Thursday said the outfit will stage a nationwide agitation on September 8 to press for ‘remunerative price’ to farmers for their produce to cover their production cost and called for “improvement” in the Centre’s new agri laws that are facing opposition from a section of cultivators.

    The farmer body said that the Central government should either bring a new legislation or make changes in the agri-marketing laws enacted last year to add a provision for payment of minimum support price (MSP) for major farm produce.

    Top BKS functionary Dinesh Kulkarni, addressing a press conference here, said that farmers should get ‘remunerative price’ for their produce to cover their cost of production, which they are not getting in the existing system.

    ALSO READ| Rajnath Singh defends farm laws but says ready for talks if any clause against farmers’ interest

    “Remunerative price is cost of production plus profit – that is what we demanding. Remunerative price is the right of farmers, which should be facilitated by the government,” said Kulkarni, the BKS’s Akhil Bharatiya Sanghatan Mantri (national organising general secretary).

    “The MSP announced by the government today is not a remunerative price. However, even if it is not doing that it should at least give the MSP it is announcing and make a law for the same,” he said. Kulkarni said the three new farm laws do not have any clause about ensuring MSP or remunerative price for agricultural commodities.

    “The government should ensure this remunerative price in the present farm laws or make a separate legislation for the same. The government should make guidelines in respect of contract farming wherein crops are not purchased below MSP. This should be at least implemented for the 23 crops that are currently under the MSP regime,” he said.

    Asked about his views on the Centre’s new agri-marketing laws, against which farmers are protesting for the last ten months, Kulkarni told PTI that they need “some improvement”.

    “For example, there should be an agriculture court (to tackle disputes). Similarly, (private) traders coming into the farm sector should be registered and should give bank security. Thirdly, there is a huge flaw in respect to (changes) in the Essential Commodities Act as far as consumers are concerned,” he said.

    The BKS leader said that the government, in order to promote business, has given huge exemption to big companies, allowing them to stock some commodities as much as they want and this needs to corrected.

    The 2020 amendment to the Essential Commodities Act, which is part of the new agri laws, removes restrictions on stocking of certain essential commodities. To a query on the BKS’s view on the ongoing farmer protest, Kulkarni said the nature of the agitation changed after January 26, when the stir took a violent turn in New Delhi.

    After that dialogue with the Centre stopped, he said. The government and farmer unions have held 11 rounds of talks so far, the last being on January 22, to break the deadlock on the new laws and end the protest.

    “It (talks) would have paved the way for discussion with the system for implementing remunerative price in the right manner. However, that dialogue stopped,” Kulkarni said.

    The three farm laws enacted in September 2020 have been projected by the Modi government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.

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

    The Centre has repeatedly asserted that these mechanisms will remain in place.

  • Rajnath Singh defends farm laws but says ready for talks if any clause against farmers’ interest

    By PTI

    PANCHKULA (HARYANA): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday defended the Centre’s three contentious farm laws but said his government is ready to talk to farmers if they feel there is any clause in the legislations against their interests.

    Stressing that there is a need to fully understand the laws, Singh said an “atmosphere of opposition” is being created and farmers should understand this. Farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at Delhi’s borders since late November in protest against the laws, demanding their withdrawal.

    Farmer groups have alleged that the laws will end the mandi and MSP procurement systems, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

    Addressing the gathering for a state-level Annapurna programme under the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana through online mode on Thursday, Singh lauded the Narendra Modi government for taking steps for the welfare of farmers.

    “Our government brought three farm laws. But I think there is a need to fully understand these laws. Lekin ek virodh ka mahoul bhi paida kiya ja raha hai (But an atmosphere of opposition is being created).I feel that farmer brothers should understand this,” said Singh.

    “Confusion” over the minimum support price was also spread. Farmers have started learning the truth and they have started doing calculations of their profit and loss,” Rajnath claimed while pointing to benefits of the laws.

    “I have studied the farm legislations fully and I can say with confidence that there is no clause as per my information which is against the interest of our farmer brothers. If anybody feels there is any such clause in these laws which can affect the interest of farmers, I want to say with full confidence that we are ready to sit and hold talks with farmer brothers,” he said.

    Listing out the Modi government’s decisions taken for farmers’ welfare, he said the MSP h as been raised by one-and-half times and small farmers have been provided with cheaper loans. A sum of over Rs 1.50 lakh crore has been credited to the bank accounts of farmers, he said, adding that it had never happened in the history of the country. “All these steps were taken to empower and strengthen our farmers,” he said.

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    He also talked about the Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, saying Rs 6,000 directly goes into the account of farmers. “There is no possibility of corruption. The whole money reaches your accounts,” he stressed while reminding that once former PM Rajiv Gandhi had said that only 16 out of 100 paise reaches people.

    “We today send 100 paise and the whole amount reaches your accounts. There is no possibility of corruption. What will be more sensitivity towards farmers than this,” he asked. Singh said that the Centre and state governments complement each other in a cooperative federal structure.

    “The Centre may frame many plans but until it gets support from the state government, their successful implementation is not possible. Similarly, the state government may make many plans, if the Centre does not support them, their implementation also becomes difficult,” he said.

  • Preparation for national farmers’ convention in full swing: Samyukt Kisan Morcha

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Tuesday said the preparation for an all-India convention of farmers is in full swing and it is receiving an enthusiastic response from across the country.

    The SKM, an umbrella body of 40 farmer unions leading the agitation against the Centre’s contentious agricultural laws, had announced on Monday that it would hold the national convention on August 26-27 to mark the completion of nine months of the farmers’ protest.

    The preparation for the all-India convention of farmers is in full swing, the SKM said in a statement.

    “…enthusiastic response is being received from all over India. The national convention will see the presence of delegates from all states and union territories of India,” it said.

    The future course of action of the farmers’ agitation will be jointly decided at the convention, it added.

    The SKM said, “The central government has always tried to pretend that this historic farmers’ movement is limited to a few states, overlooking the fact that farmers all over the country are struggling to stay afloat.”

    Thousands of farmers from across the country, particularly Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at Delhi borders, including Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur, since November last year to demand the repeal of the three farm laws and a new law to guarantee minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.

    Farmers claim that these laws — the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 — will do away with the MSP, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.

    The government maintains that these laws are pro-farmer.

    Over 10 rounds of talks between the government and farmer leaders have failed to break the deadlock between the two sides.

  • People protesting farm laws attack BJP MLA Umesh Malik in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar

    By PTI

    MUZAFFARNAGAR: People protesting the Centre’s farm laws allegedly attacked BJP’s Budhana MLA Umesh Malik, pelting his car with stones and smearing it with black ink at Sisauli village here on Saturday.

    A video of the incident has surfaced on social media.

    In another purported video, the MLA is seen telling that the attackers had affiliation to the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU).

    Incidentally, Sisauli is the village of BKU leader Rakesh Tikait and the headquarter of the farmers’ body.

    Police said the incident took place when the MLA reached the village for a programme.

    Police rescued the MLA, they said.

    After the incident, BJP supporters gathered at the local police station, demanding action against the culprits.

    Union minister Sanjeev Balyan also reached the police station after the incident.

    Farmers have been protesting against the Centre’s farm laws for the past over eight months.

    A large number of them are protesting at Delhi borders, demanding the repeal of the laws, which have been dubbed as pro-farmer by the Union government.

  • Farmers to celebrate Independence Day as ‘Kisan Mazdoor Azaadi Sangram Diwas’

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Farmers protesting against the three contentious agriculture laws will celebrate India’s 75th Independence Day as ‘Kisan Mazdoor Azaadi Sangram Diwas’.

    Following a national call by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, farmers across the country will mark the day with ‘tiranga rallies’ at block and tehsil levels.

    However, the farmers stressed that they will not enter Delhi.

    “On August 15, Samyukt Kisan Morcha has given a call for all constituents to mark the day as Kisan Mazdoor Azaadi Sangram Diwas, with tiranga marches to be organised on that day,” said Kavitha Kuruganti of AIKSCC (All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee).

    “On that day, tractors, motorcycles, cycles, and carts will be taken out in tiranga marches by farmers and workers to block, tehsil, district headquarters or to their nearest kisan morchas or dharnas. These marches will be taken out with the national flag on the vehicles,” he added.

    The rallies will be taken out nationwide from 11 am to 1 pm, another farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said.

    At the Delhi borders too, including Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur, tri-colour marches and programmes will be held throughout the day.

    “At Singhu, farmers will march for about eight kms from the main stage at the protest site till the KMP expressway, with the tricolour, and the flags of their respective farm unions on their vehicles,” farmer leader Jagmohan Singh said.

    The tricolour will also be hoisted on the farmer “jhopdis” at these protest sites, he added.

    Farmer leaders stressed that the tiranga rally on August 15 will be “peaceful” and will steer clear of Delhi.

    “Marches will be taken out across the country, but at tehsil and block levels. They will be peaceful, and we have clarified repeatedly that we have no plans of entering Delhi,” Kohar said.

    “The happenings of January 26 put a dent on our movement, so the tiranga marches on August 15 will not enter any city, but our agitation is not going to stop until our demands are met,” added Singh.

    Singh said the tiranga marches on Independence Day will reiterate the farmers’ demands of repealing the three contentious laws, and how the government has not extended its support to the farmers despite their over eight-month-long protest.

    “Through this rally we want to stress on our demands that we have been fighting for all this time. The speakers at the borders on August 15 will talk about the three laws and why they must be repealed. The rally is also to show how the government is not going on back foot and meeting the farmers’ demands,” Singh said.

    Farmers from different parts of the country have been protesting against the three laws since November last year.

    While the farmers have expressed apprehension over the laws doing away with the Minimum Support Price system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations, the government has been projecting the laws as major agricultural reforms.

    Over 10 rounds of talks have failed to break the deadlock between the two parties.

  • False cases won’t deter farmers from protesting farm laws: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI

    KURUKSHETRA: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait on Thursday accused the Haryana government of slapping false cases against farmers and said it won’t deter them from protesting the Centre’s farm laws.

    Maintaining that their stir will continue till the laws are repealed, he warned the state government “not to interfere” in their peaceful agitation.

    “The ruling dispensation in Haryana is trying to appease its political masters by arresting agitating farmers and slapping false cases against them,” he alleged.

    It won’t deter them from holding the protest and their agitation against the laws will continue till the legislations are repealed, Tikait told reporters.

    Replying to a question, he said farmers are united and fighting a long battle with the central government, which is “pro-corporate”.

    “The central government refuses to listen to anyone and whosoever tries to speak against their injustice is branded as anti-national,” he said.

    To another question, Tikait said farmers are sure of their victory and will force the Centre to repeal the farm laws.

    In reply to another question about any campaign against the BJP in next year’s Vidhan Sabha elections in Punjab and UP, Tikait said farmers are mature enough and know everything.

    “They will react and act accordingly, and unitedly during the elections,” he said.

    On Haryana BKU leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni’s earlier suggestion that outfits from Punjab involved in the stir should contest the 2022 assembly polls, Tikait said it could be his own opinion and the Samyukt Kisan Morcha has nothing to do with it.

    He, however, said that Chaduni is part of the Morcha and all are unitedly spearheading the agitation.

    Tikait was here to address a gathering of farmers at Jat Dharamshala to invite them in large numbers to participate in a “Kisan Mahapanchayat” to be held at Muzaffarnagar in UP on September 5.

  • Have no regrets, ready to face any action for farmers’ cause: Pratap Singh Bajwa after Rajya Sabha ruckus

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa on Tuesday said he has no regrets about creating ruckus in Rajya Sabha and is ready to face any action for raising his voice against the farm laws.

    Bajwa was seen throwing an official file at the Chair after climbing the table occupied by officials during the protest by opposition members when the House was to commence a discussion on farmers’ issues.

    “I have no regrets. I will do this 100 times again if the government does not give us an opportunity to discuss the three black anti-agriculture laws,” he told PTI.

    “I will be happy if the government punishes me for highlighting the cause of farmers and seeking the repeal of anti-farmer laws. Being the son of a farmer, I stand by the farmers and their cause,” he said.

    Bajwa said they had “no other option” as the government was disallowing their notice seeking a discussion on the repeal of the three farm laws.

    He said he has not committed any crime by raising farmers’ concerns and has no regrets.

    The government, on its part, has accused the opposition members of lowering the dignity of the House with their unruly conduct.

    The MP from Punjab said the government was behaving like the British, “who had to bow before the farmers during the pre-independent times”.

    “The government will have to take these farm laws back one day as we will continue to fight for the farmers,” he said, adding that the laws were akin to signing the “death warrants of farmers”.

    Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that the pandemonium in Rajya Sabha was a “direct consequence of the mischievous strategy” of the Modi Government to “divide” the Opposition and its refusal to discuss the repeal of the three farm laws.

    TMC member Derek O’Brien shared a video of the opposition ruckus when the discussion on the farmers’ problems was being taken up in the upper house after lunch.

    He also alleged that the government was running away from repealing the farm laws.

    Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, however, said the “undemocratic behaviour” of Congress, TMC and AAP proves that there is nothing wrong with the new farm laws and the problem lies in their perception.

    He said if the Opposition members were concerned about farmers and agriculture, they would have participated in the discussion and put forth their viewpoints instead of protesting.