News Analysis India

Tag: Farmers Protest

  • Man blocks actor Ajay Devgn’s car in Mumbai over farmers protests, arrested

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: A 28-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly blocking actor Ajay Devgn’s car outside Film City in Goregaon and demanding to know why the latter had not spoken out in support of farmers protesting against the Centre’s new agri marketing laws, Mumbai police said.

    Rajdeep Singh, a resident of Santosh Nagar locality in the northern suburb, is a driver originally hailing from Punjab, one of the states from which a large number of farmers have gathered near Delhi for the protests, said an official.

    “The incident took place around 10:30 am. Singh stopped Devgn’s car and demanded to know why the actor had not spoken in support of the protesting farmers. A complaint was lodged by Devgn’s bodyguard Pradeep Indrasen Gautam after which Singh was arrested,” the Dindoshi police station official said.

    Singh was charged under IPC sections 341 (wrongful restraint) 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation), said Senior Inspector Dharmendra Kamble of Dindoshi police station.

  • Karnataka HC adjourns hearing on Kangana Ranaut’s plea against FIR over tweet on farmers

    By Express News Service
    BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has adjourned the hearing of the petition filed by Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut to March 18. Justice HP Sandesh adjourned the hearing on Tuesday.  

    She has moved the Karnataka High Court seeking to quash the FIR registered by the Kyathsandra Police in Tumakuru district in response to an order passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) based on the private complaint filed by Tumakuru based advocate Ramesh Naik L.

    Naik has filed the private complaint against Kangana for her alleged objectionable tweet against farmers who are protesting against the farm laws. He alleged that her tweet insulted the farmers of the country. Acting on it, the JMFC had ordered the local police to register an FIR and conduct an investigation.

  • Farm agitation casts shadow on Punjab’s Budget session

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH: The first day of the Budget session of Punjab Assembly got off to a stormy start on Monday in the backdrop of the ongoing farmers’ agitation against three new farm laws.As Governor VP Singh Badnore began his address, he was interrupted by Shiromani (SAD) Akali Dal MLAs led by Bikram Majithia who raised the slogan of ‘Go back Governor’. SAD MLAs questioned the Governor for not sending the amendments passed by the Punjab assembly on farm bills for presidential nod. They rushed to the well of the House and threw papers in the air. They were later joined by the Aam Aadmi Party MLAs.

    Addressing the media later, Majithia, a former minister, said Monday’s protest had exposed the Congress which proved that it was hand-in-glove with the Centre. He said SAD legislators had appealed to the Congress to launch a joint protest against the governor for not recommending the Assembly’s objections to the President. “The Governor has been sitting over the recommendations, which is an insult to Punjabis,” he added. Majithia termed the Congress protest over fuel price hike as “hypocrisy”.When the session resumed in the afternoon, the Assembly paid tributes to the farmers who died during the agitation. 

  • Representatives of Dalit Panchayats pledge to support farmers’ protest against farm laws

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Representatives of a number of Dalit panchayats on Sunday got together and pledged their support to the farmers’ agitation against the farm laws.

    Organised by Dalit Congress leader and former MP Udit Raj at the Constitution Club, Dalit representatives said Dalits and farmers will now unitedly fight against the farm laws till they are withdrawn.

    Udit Raj said due to the stubborn attitude of the government, the Dalits have been forced to take this step.

    He said only a farmers’ movement can stop the “dictatorship” of the government and he urged every citizen to salute such a movement.

    The Dalit leader also said that they will oppose the lateral entry of people into the IAS.

    He noted that this will not only affect the reserved class but also the general class.

    Four major resolutions were passed in the meeting, which included a demand for the repeal of three farm laws, stopping the lateral entry of officers into IAS, stopping the sale of government assets to the private sector.

    He said this movement will be taken all over the country.

  • Farmers’ protest in Muzaffarnagar villages more about sugarcane issues than agri laws

    By PTI
    MUZAFFARNAGAR: The old saying that agriculture is the best way to earn a living and working for someone else is the worst has given way to new realities, says Raj Kumar, a farmer from Satheri village in this western Uttar Pradesh district, a region where farmers’ agitation seems to be driven more by the “stagnant” sugarcane prices and the stray cattle menace, than by the three contentious agri laws.

    Kumar, a Rawa Rajput, says sugarcane prices have not been raised for the past several seasons, whereas companies have reduced the size of Urea and DAP bags, making manure costlier and agriculture “unsustainable”.

    “Pehle kehte the, Uttam Kheti — Beech Vyapar — Neech Naukri. Ab to sab ult gaya hai, (We used to say agriculture is the best way to earn a livelihood, followed by trade or business and the worst was to be working for someone else. This wisdom seems to have crumbled),” says Kumar.

    Muzaffarnagar, a western Uttar Pradesh district, is not very far from Delhi which has seen its three border points turn into tent cities as farmers protesting against the three new Central agricultural laws, which open up the sector for private players, have been camping there for close to three months now.

    But on the question of farm laws, Kumar says he doesn’t know much about them but he has been supporting the protesting farmers as agriculture has become “unsustainable”.

    Echoing similar sentiments, Roshan Lal, a Saini by caste and a small-scale farmer, said more than the three farm laws, it is delay in payment for sugarcane and the rising diesel prices, alongwith the problem of stray cattle that have made their lives miserable.

    “More than farm laws, no hike in cane prices, delay of over a year in payments of sugarcane and the menace of stray cattle have broken our back,” Lal said, standing by Kumar.

    “All this has forced us to raise their voices for farmers’ issues.”

    Sohan, a Kashyap (Jhimir) by caste from Ganshampura village who owns less than one-acre land and uses his crop mostly in his jaggery workshop, says until and unless sugarcane prices are increased the prices of jaggery would also remain stagnant.

    “Yahan to inkh hi sab kuchh hai-uska dam badhega toh gud ka daam bhi badhega warna toh mazdoori bhi bachna mushkil hai (Here sugarcane is everything. If its prices increase, the prices of jaggery will also go up otherwise it would be difficult to pay even wages),” he said.

    Sohan said he has heard about farm laws but doesn’t know much about them.

    He also flagged the issue of stray cattle.

    All three — Ram Kumar, Roshan and Sohan — underlined the importance of sugarcane prices and timely payments to farmers and expressed limited reservations about farm laws which is based on the information shared by farmer leaders.

    The opposition to these laws becomes louder and more visible as one moves towards the Jats-dominated areas in western Uttar Pradesh.

    In the Shoram village, which is seen as the headquarters of Khaps (caste councils) of Jat community, a mere mention of farm laws evokes a strong response.

    “These laws are not only against the farmers but against the country. Those who are guarding the borders are our sons and behind their back, you are trying to snatch the rights of their brothers who are into farming,” said Bhupender Choudhary, a villager.

    Choudhary, a middle-aged farmer, said the sentiment against the farm laws became more pronounced after people in the region saw Bhartiya Kisan Union Leader (BKU) Rakesh Tikait crying on TV channels.

    Tikait, himself a Jat, hails from Sisoli village in Muzaffarnagar district.

    The protest will continue till the government takes back farm laws, says Vipin Balyan, a 35-year-old farmer from the Shoram village.

    “The proponents of these black laws will pay heavily in coming elections.”

    Both Bhupender and Vipin also expressed concern about the “stagnant” sugarcane prices, delay in payments to sugarcane farmers and the havoc caused by stray cattle, saying that all these are damaging farmers economically.

    However, most of the farmers whom the PTI spoke to in the region said they are receiving annual Rs 6,000 government assistance under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme started by the Centre.

    The entire western Uttar Pradesh has been witnessing a number of Mahapanchayts organized either by khaps or farmer leaders or political parties against the farm laws.

    The sugarcane crop, the mainstay of the farmers in the region, is cultivated on more than 80 percent of the arable land in the districts of western Uttar Pradesh.

    As per the data provided by All India Sugar Traders Association (AISTA), the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of Sugarcane was at Rs 255 per quintal for 2017-18 season and increased to Rs 285 per quintal in 2020-21 season.

    Whereas the Uttar Pradesh government’s State Advisory Price (SAP) is fixed at Rs 315 per quintal for the last four seasons from 2017-18.

    There are nearly 50 sugar mills in the region besides a large number of jaggery workshops.

    Several sugar mills have not cleared farmers’ dues of last season, according to farmers.

    Agriculture experts say a farmer cultivates on an average 900 quintal of sugarcane in one hectare of land in one season which is of about nine months. The farmer spends on average around more than Rs 2 lakh per hectare including all its expenses during a season on sugarcane crop.

  • Farmers’ protest: Raised tents, jute pads to beat the heat at Ghazipur border

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  With summer approaching fast and daily temperatures rising, protestors at the Ghazipur border of the national capital are busy making arrangements to beat the heat. Tents that were spread on the service lane near the Delhi- Meerut Expressway, have moved under the shade of the flyover. Winter arrangements inside the tents are now being replaced with jute pads to keep the floor cool.

    “Like winter, we will also face the heat. Arrangements are made for everyone. We have requested the local administration for the connection of electricity. Hopefully, it will be provided. But there is no going back or withdrawing the agitation. We are here to stay,” said Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait.

    For protection from heat, arrangements have been made for a large tent in front of the stage, so that people can sit there and listen to the speakers. Under this shade, numbers are slowly increasing. Volunteers are providing water bottles to the protestors and requesting them to remain organised.

    Most of them spend the day inside tents and come out only after sunset. Krishna, a farmer from Uttarakhand, is on guard duty at one of the entrances to the protest site.  “I am here day and night. If people are leaving, almost the same number is coming in to support the cause.

    The temperature is definitely rising but farmers can handle that,” said Krishna, who probes everyone who enters and asks them to remove their masks for a moment to see their face. In order to avoid the heat from the concrete road, many tents have been set up at a slightly elevated place. In the days to come, all the tents at the site will be place in the same way.

    Menwhile, donations for coolers and fans are being collected. People are contributing, as they want to do ‘sewa’ and help the protestors, informed Gurudayal Singh, one of the members of the organising committee. To manage the stress, a meditation centre has also sprung up at the site run by a group of volunteers from the spiritual group called Sahaja Yoga. Scores of farmers are taking part in this. At food counters, water-based cooling refreshments are offered to every passerby.

  • Republic Day violence: Media house denies in Delhi HC any offensive reporting against Sikh community

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A media house has denied before the Delhi High Court the allegations of indulging in “offensive and potentially fatal” attack on the Sikh community by airing on its channel unverified videos regarding the Republic Day protest by farmers against new agri laws.

    In an affidavit filed in the high court, it has claimed that “not even a single assertion was made in relation to the Sikh community”.

    The affidavit has been filed in response to one of two PILs which have alleged that the media house “concocted”, “offensive and potentially fatal” attack on the Sikh community by circulating unverified videos regarding the Republic Day protest by farmers on its news platform.

    The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has also filed its response to one of the two PILs, saying it is the responsibility of the channel owner to ensure that a programme telecast on TV does not violate the Programme Code prescribed under the Cable Television Networks (CTN) Rules.

    “Whenever a violation of the Programme Code is brought to the notice of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, appropriate action is taken as per the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act,” said the affidavit, filed through central government standing counsel Ajay Digpaul.

    The ministry said it has also set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) to look into specific complaints regarding violation of the code.

    The affidavits of the ministry and the media house have been filed in response to the plea moved by Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa claiming that the “vicious campaign directed against a particular community at a time when public sentiments are flared up could result in disastrous consequences, including endangering the lives, property and liberty of members of that community”.

    A similar plea was moved by Delhi resident Manjit Singh G K contending that “allegations as made out in the said videos are absolutely untrue, baseless and a concoction of phantom imagination which bears no nexus to facts, whatsoever”.

    Denying the allegations against it, the media house has claimed that the plea by Dhindsa was an attempt to “impose fetters or stifle the reporting of the press”. It has also alleged that the petition was a “political gimmick to gain political mileage”.

    Referring to the CTN Act and Rules, the media house said, “There is a complete mechanism in relation to the regulation of the content of news broadcast in India. There is no further requirement of any additional legal structure or legislation in this regard.”

    It has also contended that the petitioner has not approached the appropriate body, News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA), with any grievance before coming to the court.

  • ‘Farmers will travel to Bengal, campaign against BJP’: BKU chief Naresh Tikait dares Modi govt

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Naresh Tikait on Thursday threatened the ruling BJP that the farmers would travel to West Bengal to campaign against the party candidates.

    Tikait was talking to media persons in Ayodhya on Thursday while on his way to Basti to address a Kisan Mahapanchayat. The farmers’ leader offered prayers at Ramjanmboomi, the abode of Lord Ram, and Lord Hanuman at Hanumangarhi temple.

    “We will campaign against the BJP candidates. We will request the people of West Bengal to vote for any political party except the BJP as it wins polls on false promises,” said Takait.

    ALSO READ | Rajnath Singh a ‘caged parrot’ in Modi govt, says BKU chief Naresh Tikait

    Claiming himself to be ‘Raghuvanshi’, the lineage of Lord Ram, Tikait said that he prayed to the deities to give Prime Minister some wisdom so that better sense prevailed in him while resolving farmers’ problems by holding fresh talks. He further said that farmers would also make donations for the construction of the Ram temple.

    “We want a meaningful dialogue with the government and leaders of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha to resolve the crisis. But before that it must withdraw cases lodged against farmers,” asserted the BKU chief.

    Interestingly, for the first time in the recent past, Tikait did not put the demand of farm laws’ repeal and instead said the Modi government should amend and strike down provisions that are not in the interests of farmers.

    “If needed, the government may amend the new laws to make it pro-farmer. But there has to be total transparency,” he said.

  • Centre taking all steps to double farmers’ income, says PM Narendra Modi

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Even as his government is facing backlash over the three new farm laws, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the Centre is doing everything to double the income of farmers.

    He was commenting on completion of two years of the PM-Kisan scheme. In a series of tweets, Modi said the government has ushered in a historic increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP). 

    “Over the last seven years, the Government of India has taken many initiatives for transforming agriculture. From better irrigation to more technology, more credit and markets to proper crop insurance, focus on soil health to eliminating middlemen, the efforts are all-encompassing,” he tweeted.

    Praising the “passion and tenacity of our farmers”, Modi said, “On this day, two years ago the PM-Kisan scheme was launched with an aim to ensure a life of dignity as well as prosperity for our hardworking farmers, who work day and night to keep our nation fed. The tenacity and passion of our farmers is inspiring.”

    The PM-Kisan scheme was introduced to hike the income of the farmers by providing monetary support to farmers’ families and also helping them financially to take care of expenses related to agriculture and allied activities.

    An amount of Rs 6,000 per year is transferred in three installments directly into the accounts of the farmers under the scheme, which was launched on on February 24, 2019 by Modi at Gorakhpur, UP. 

    The scheme initially provided income support to all small and marginal farmers who have up to 2 hectares of land. Later, it was expanded to cover all farmer families irrespective of the size of their land holdings. 

  • Rajnath Singh a ‘caged parrot’ in Modi govt, says BKU chief Naresh Tikait

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: The leader of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Naresh Tikait on Wednesday said if Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is given a free hand, the farmers’ issue would be resolved in a minute.

    This is Singh as a ‘caged parrot’ in the Modi government.

    Expanding the base of the protest which had so far been relegated only to western UP, to the eastern and central region of the state, BKU held a Kisan Mahapanchayat at Barabanki, just 40 km away from Lucknow, on Wednesday.

    “I guarantee that the impasse will end in a minute if Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is given a free hand to hold talks with us. But this government is rigid and obstinate. It has made him a ‘caged parrot’. The government should change its attitude and listen to the voices of agitating farmers to repeal new farmlaws,” Tikait said in his address to the farmers.

    ALSO READ | Government ready to talk with farmers on three laws after unions’ response on its offer: Tomar

    Claiming that Barabanki was the gateway to Purvanchal (east UP), Tikait said it was important to make the farmers of central and eastern UP aware of the shortcomings of the new farm laws. The BKU president announced that the union would hold Kisan Mahapanchayats across eastern UP to unite farmers and continue their stir till the three farm laws were repealed. “If the government is not willing to withdraw these laws, then we will also continue our agitation,” he declared.

    Tikait claimed that Union Minister Dr Sanjeev Balyane was also feeling suffocated in the Modi government and unable to express his feelings he has for the agitating farmers. “We voted for the BJP government but now the same government is not with us. Instead, they are out to ruin us,” he fumed.

    If this government continued in power, then farmers would be left with no choice but to sell their lands. “Farmers are not getting MSP. Prices of electricity, diesel and petrol are spiralling. In such a situation, our survival is at stake. The government must change its attitude and withdraw the new laws,” he said.