News Analysis India

Tag: Farmers Protest

  • Punjab CM Amarinder Singh raises farm laws issue with Union Home Minister Amit Shah

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday met Home Minister Amit Shah and urged him to repeal the three farm laws, citing social, economic and security implications of a prolonged farmers’ agitation.

    He also sought 25 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and anti-drone gadgets for the Border Security Force (BSF) for protection from Pakistan-backed terror forces as Punjab is a border state and cited possible targeting of Hindu temples, prominent farmer leaders, RSS offices, RSS-BJP leaders among others, according to a statement by his office.

    The chief minister said during the meeting that the farm laws have caused great resentment amongst farmers from Punjab and other states and they must be repealed.

    He expressed concern over the fear of inimical powers from across the border trying to exploit the resentment and disgruntlement against the government and sought an expeditious solution to the farmers’ concerns.

    The chief minister said protests have been going on in Punjab ever since the central government issued the ordinances in June 2020.

    “While these protests have so far been largely peaceful, one can sense rising tempers, especially as the state moves towards elections in early 2022,” the chief minister said.

    The prolonged agitation is not only impacting economic activities in Punjab but also has the potential to affect its social fabric, especially when political parties and groups take strong positions, he added.

    The chief minister told Shah that the security situation was grave and needed the Centre’s immediate intervention, as he cited the recent heavy influx of weapons, hand-grenades and IEDs into the state, with Pakistan’s ISI also raising the ante ahead of the Independence Day and in the run-up to the Punjab Assembly polls.

    Singh asked the Union Home Minister for CAPF deployment in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali, Patiala, Bathinda, Phagwara and Moga, as well as anti-drone technology for the BSF deployed at the borders.

    He pointed to the “potent threat” to the security of vital infrastructure/installations and public meetings/events being attended by “highly threatened” individuals, an official statement from Punjab government said.

    Referring to inputs from central and state agencies, corroborated by disclosures made by arrested terrorists, Amarinder Singh said potential individual and mass indiscriminate targets include trains, buses and Hindu temples, prominent farmer leaders, RSS Shakhas/Offices, RSS/BJP/Shiv Sena leaders based in Punjab, Deras, Nirankari Bhawans and Samagams.

    He cited specific inputs about five farmer leaders and that they had refused to take security offered by Punjab and Haryana police.

    The chief minister apprised Shah about the recent efforts by Pakistan’s ISI and the country’s establishment to push large quantities of weapons, hand-grenades, RDX explosive, detonators, timer devices, sophisticated laboratory made tiffin bombs into Punjab for carrying out terrorist acts.

    “With the Punjab Assembly elections scheduled for February-March 2022, many militant and radical operatives are being pressured by the ISI to carry out terrorist actions.

    These are very serious and worrisome developments having huge security implications for the border state and its people,” the CM warned.

    Amarinder Singh also flagged the urgent need to compensate farmers for the management of paddy straw at Rs 100 per quintal and to address the growing fear of shortage of DAP (Diammonium phosphate), which would further aggravate the problems of farmers.

    He urged Shah to immediately advise the officials of the fertilizers department for enhanced allocation of DAP stocks to Punjab as per the revised demand by the state and to further direct the suppliers to ensure that adequate stocks are given as per schedule.

  • Rajya Sabha business lists debate on ‘agri problems, solutions’, Jairam Ramesh questions his name on it

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has accused the government of putting his name in the discussion on ‘agriculture problems and solutions’ in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday which is not related to his calling attention notice on farmers’ agitation.

    Since the start of the Monsoon session on July 19, parliamentary proceedings have been continuously witnessing disruptions due to protests by Opposition parties and a logjam has persisted over their demand for a discussion on the Pegasus snooping row and farmers’ protests.

    “Tomorrow, in a too clever-by-half move the Modi Government has scheduled a discussion on ‘the agricultural problems and solutions’ and added my name to it.

    “The discussion has nothing to do with my notice given on July 23 on the ongoing farmers’ agitation,” Ramesh tweeted on Monday.

    The government has listed a short-duration discussion on “the agricultural problems and solutions” in the list of businesses of the Rajya Sabha for August 10.

    Ramesh shared a picture of the calling attention notice given on July 23 in which he wrote, “Farmers and farmer organisations have been protesting and agitating against the three farm laws that were pushed through Parliament without any legislative scrutiny in September 2020. The agitation has been going on for at least nine months now.”

    Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien supported Ramesh saying the “dirty tricks” of the BJP is trying to break opposition unity.

    “Dirty tricks of Modi-Shah. Glad you called them out. Opposition speaking in one voice: we want a discussion on internal security (Pegasus). Failed again in trying to divide and rule,” O’Brien tweeted in reply to Ramesh.

  • Farmers will oust BJP government if it doesn’t repeal agri laws: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI

    GHAZIABAD: Farmers will oust the BJP government if it does not repeal the contentious agricultural laws and enacts a legislation guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) for crops, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said here on Monday.

    Tikait, the national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, made the remarks as he held a meeting with the BKU’s office-bearers from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh at the Ghazipur border here.

    The meeting was held to formulate a strategy to intensify the farmers’ agitation in these states to press their demand for the withdrawal of the three farm laws and the guarantee for MSP, according to a BKU statement.

    “If the laws are not repealed and MSP not guaranteed, we shall force the BJP (government) to quit. We will reach out to farmers and expose the BJP. A government made by farmers cannot stay in power if it is anti-farmer,” the statement in Hindi quoted Tikait as saying.

    However, the influential BKU leader emphasised that the farmers are not against any political party.

    “We are not against any party. We are only against any group which is opposed to the welfare of the farmers and labourers,” he added.

    In his meeting, Tikait held discussions on the BKU’s press conferences scheduled for August 11 in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun and Himachal Pradesh’s Nahan, the farmer union’s media in-charge Dharmendra Malik said.

    The BKU will hold an event in Haryana’s Mewat on August 26 and one in Yamuna Nagar on August 29, he said.

    In September, a ‘kisan panchayat’ will be held in Muzaffarnagar, the BKU’s headquarters in western Uttar Pradesh, he added.

    Hundreds of farmers are encamped at Delhi’s border points of Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur since November 2020.

    They have been demanding that 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 be rolled back and a new law made to guarantee MSP for their crops.

    The government, which has held 11 rounds of talks with the farmer leaders, has maintained the laws are pro-farmer and will usher in new technology in farming.

  • Protesting farmer unions to hold Tiranga rallies on Independence Day

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Farmers protesting against the Centre’s three agri laws would observe Independence Day as ‘Kisan Mazdoor Azadi Sangram Diwas’ and would take out Tiranga marches across the country, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) announced on Wednesday.

    In a statement, the SKM, which is an amalgam of 40 farmer unions, said “farmers and workers shall take out Tiranga marches to block, tehsil, district headquarters or their nearest Kisan Morcha or dharna” on August 15.

    “These marches will be taken out with the national flag on cycles, bikes, carts, tractors, etc,” it said.

    The SKM here also reiterated their earlier decision that no “official flag hoisting functions” or “march with the national flag” would be opposed by farmers till August 15.

    However, its decision of boycotting BJP leaders and its allies would continue for all other political and governmental activities, it noted.

    During the ongoing ”Kisan Sansad”, which completed its 10th day on Wednesday, the farmers here passed resolutions against the three black laws as well as against the proposed bill on Air Pollution and the Electricity Amendment Bill.

    The mock Parliament also witnessed the farmers tabling a “bill” providing a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the agriculture produce.

    Various speakers during the discussion highlighted the failure of the existing system to offer a remunerative price or even cost price to the farmers, it added.

    The Kisan Sansad is being organised by farmers who have been protesting against the Centre’s three contentious farm laws at multiple Delhi borders since November last year.

    Over 10 rounds of talks with the government that has been projecting the laws as major agricultural reforms have failed to break the deadlock between the two parties.

    As part of these Kisan Sansad sessions, 200 farmers from the protest sites participate in the mock Parliament session at Jantar Mantar during which issues concerning the farming community are discussed.

  • Farmers will teach the BJP a lesson in next year’s UP assembly elections: Rashtriya Kisan Manch

    By PTI
    MATHURA: Protesting farmers are seriously considering voting against the ruling Uttar Pradesh government in next year’s assembly polls to teach the BJP-led Centre a lesson, the Rashtriya Kisan Manch said on Tuesday.

    “Farmers will settle scores with the anti-farmer BJP party in the forthcoming assembly elections in UP,” said Shekhar Dixit, National President, Rashtriya Kisan Manch, while talking to reporters here.

    He said future course of action will be decided on Wednesday by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha at the ongoing ‘Kisan Sansad’.

    On the basis of the next strategy, the agitation would be intensified, Dixit said.

    ALSO READ | AAP MP Sanjay Singh seeks debate on farmers’ stir in RS 

    He questioned the propriety of the Centre to impose a farm law on farmers, which in fact is “anti-farmer and pro-capitalist”.

    The government should make public data, if any, of its pro-farmer development that it touts in parallel with the corridors/expressways of the country.

    Terming the PM Fasal Bima Yojana (crop insurance scheme) as a “photocopy of the farm laws”, he said it has miserably failed since the scheme is being run to save the interests of industrialists.

    The claim made by the government that it is working towards doubling the income of farmers by 2022 is nothing but a “gimmick” meant to misguide them, Dixit said.

    The manner in which the Union agriculture minister invites farmers for a dialogue and the way it backtracks on it stands witness to how the government is beholden to large businesses, the farmer leader claimed.

    Protesting farmers under the Rashtriya Kisan Manch will ‘gherao’ the UP Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow if the arrears of sugarcane growers is not paid in time, he said.

  • Opposition plans breakfast meeting, mock parliament, staying on in the houses to corner Centre

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: With the monsoon session of Parliament entering its third week on Monday, the Opposition will have a breakfast meeting on Tuesday where they will discuss ideas like organizing a mock session in the parliament compound and MPs staying on in both the houses after proceedings are over. The aim — to corner the government on the Pegasus issue since the Centre is not ready to take up discussion on the spyware.

    The floor leaders of the Opposition parties in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha have been regularly meeting to discuss strategies for each of the houses. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has now taken it to the next level by inviting all the opposition MPs from both houses for a breakfast meeting on Tuesday at the Constitution Club of India to discuss future plans. The Monsoon session ends on August 13. 

    K Suresh, chief whip of the Congress in Lok Sabha, told The New Indian Express, “Rahul Gandhi has invited all the Opposition MPs for a breakfast meeting Tuesday at 9:45 am to discuss strategy to take on the government on key issues. Several ideas are on the table and will be discussed and finalized.”

    Talking about the meeting, CPI(M) floor leader Elamaram Kareem said, “Many Opposition parties have given ideas to put pressure on the Modi government to take up discussion on key issues in the house. These include holding parallel parliament and staying on by MPs in both the houses.”

    EDITORIAL | No place for Centre to hide on Pegasus snoopgate

    The Opposition leaders feel the Centre is scuttling their voices by not allowing them to raise issues while legislative business is pushed through amidst the din. 

    Several Opposition MPs have been giving suspension of business notices under Rule 267 to discuss urgent issues but none have been accepted by the Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu or Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

    The “unofficial” parliament session is one of the innovative ways in which the Opposition wants to register its protest against the government. The Opposition MPs plan to discuss key issues like Pegasus, the ongoing farmer agitation and price rise among other issues here. 

    Kapil Sibal Column | Pegasus misuse: Over to the Supreme Court

    The monsoon session of the Parliament so far has seen disruptions and repeated adjournments with a united Opposition taking on the Centre over the alleged use of Pegasus to snoop on politicians, judges, journalists, bureaucrats and others. The government has remained tight-lipped on whether it has bought the spyware.

  • Samyukta Kisan Morcha says BJP’s ‘Tiranga Yatra’ in Haryana plan to instigate, defame farmers

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Sunday appealed to Haryana farmers not to oppose the ‘Tiranga Yatra’ of the state’s BJP unit claiming that it was a “devious plan” to instigate and defame farmers.

    The umbrella body of 40 farmer unions said in a statement that the other programmes of boycott and flag protests against the BJP and the JJP will continue.

    “The proposed ‘Tiranga Yatra’ of the BJP’s Haryana unit is mainly to instigate farmers and defame them.

    SKM urged farmers to see through this devious plan of BJP, and to not let this dirty tactic, under the guise of the national flag, succeed,” it said in the statement.

    The Haryana BJP’s two-week-long ‘Tiranga Yatra’ ahead of the 75th Independence Day began from Bhiwani on Sunday, with party’s state chief O P Dhankar claiming that thousands of farmers also joined the event.

    Dhankar, along with state Agriculture Minister J P Dalal, rode a tractor with tricolour fixed on its both sides during the ‘yatra’, which was taken out on a 30-km-long route from Bahal to Loharu.

    The SKM also said the ‘Kisan Sansad’ will continue at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Monday.

    “The Kisan Sansad, despite the site of the Sansad in Jantar Mantar being flooded with water, is functioning in a disciplined manner, with detailed deliberations.

    In Chhattisgarh, a parallel Kisan Sansad was run by the state Kisan Sabha on Friday, in solidarity with the Kisan Sansad near the Parliament,” it said.

    The Kisan Sansad is part of the latest strategy of the farmers who have been protesting against the Centre’s three contentious farm laws at multiple Delhi borders since November last year.

    The farmers have expressed fear that the new laws will eliminate the Minimum Support Price system and leave them at the mercy of the big corporations.

    Over 10 rounds of talks with the government that has been projecting the laws as major agricultural reforms have failed to break the deadlock between the two parties.

    As part of these Kisan Sansad sessions, 200 farmers from the protest sites participate in a mock Parliament session at Jantar Mantar during which issues concerning the farming community are discussed.

  • Seven Oppn parties write to Prez urging him to instruct govt to discuss farmers’ issues, Pegasus in Parl

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Seven opposition parties have written to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his intervention to direct the government to discuss farmers’ issues and Pegasus phone-tapping in Parliament, NCP leader Supriya Sule said on Tuesday.

    The BSP, RLP, SAD, National Conference, CPI and the CPI(M), besides the NCP, are the signatories to the letter.

    ALSO READ | Pegasus issue ‘most important’ for IT panel; will question govt officials on this: Shashi Tharoor

    SAD leader Harsimrat Badal said it is very unfortunate that farmers have died while protesting against the three farm laws but the Centre is not even ready to discuss their issues.

    NCP leader Sule said the seven parties have written to the President seeking his intervention to instruct the government to discuss the farmers’ issues and Pegasus snooping in the Parliament.

  • Rajasthan: Former BJP MLA allegedly manhandled by protesting farmers in Shahjahanpur

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: A former BJP MLA was allegedly manhandled and his vehicle damaged by farmers protesting against three agri laws at Rajasthan’s Shahjahanpur, following which his supporters on Monday held a demonstration in Sikar and demanded arrest of the perpetrators.

    Shahjahanpur Station House Officer Vikram Singh said that no complaint has been received so far in the matter. Police said Prem Singh Bajor was on his way to Delhi when some farmers at Shahjahanpur in Alwar district identified him and stopped his SUV.

    Balor had an altercation with them and then, they allegedly manhandled him, tore his clothes and damaged his vehicle, police said quoting people who are the site of the incident.

    They said that the farmers are agitating against the three central laws which were enacted in September last year. Sources said that some time back, Bajor, who is from Sikar, had given a statement against the protesting farmers.

  • Farmers to take out tractor parade on Independence Day in Jind

    By PTI
    JIND: Farmers protesting against the new agri laws will take out a tractor parade in Jind district of Haryana on Independence Day, peasant union leaders said on Monday.

    “On August 15, we will take out a tractor parade. Our tableaux will display the tools which we use in farming,” Satbir Pehalwan Barsola told reporters here.

    The parade, in which the national flag and “kisan flag” will be put up on farm vehicles, will start and culminate at the protest site at Khatkar toll plaza here, he said.

    “We have prepared our route march. We will seek permission from the district authorities for the parade,” he said on Sunday.

    A large number of farmers will take part in this march, said Barsola, who is convener of the Khatkar toll plaza committee of the protesting farmers.

    Barsola said they will show “black flags” to BJP-JJP leaders if they come to Jind to unfurl the tricolour on Independence Day.

    Farmers opposing the Centre’s three farm laws enacted last year have been protesting at public functions of BJP-JJP leaders in the state.

    However, local farmer leader Bijender Sindhu said, as August 15 is a national festival, “We will not stop anyone from hoisting tricolour on that day”.

    “It is my personal opinion that in such functions no hindrance should be created as August 15 is our national festival,” he said.

    It has been eight months since the farmers’ agitation against the three agri laws that they claim will do away with the minimum support price system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations, began.

    Over 10 rounds of talks with the government, which has been projecting the laws as major agricultural reforms, have failed to break the deadlock between the two sides.