Tag: Farmers Protest

  • Government linking farmers’ movement with terrorists, Khalistanis: Harsimrat Kaur Badal

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Akali Dal on Tuesday accused the government of committing atrocities on farmers agitating against the three agricultural laws at Delhi’s borders and criticised it for linking the peasants’ movement with terrorists and Khalistanis.

    Akali Dal member Harsimrat Kaur Badal said farmers are braving the cold and waiting at Delhi’s borders but the government’s “eyes and ears are shut”.

    “On Constitution Day (November 26), lathis and tear gas rained on unarmed farmers,” she alleged participating the debate on the motion to thank the President’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget session.

    The Akali Dal was part of the ruling NDA till it quit the alliance in September 2020 in protest against the three laws.

    Subsequently, Badal, who was a minister in the Narendra Modi government since 2014, resigned from her post.

    Waving posters and photos of farmers, who died during the agitation, she said no sympathetic word has come from the government for them.

    “I was in the government for six years but when it became inhuman, what is the point of staying in such a government. Even when these (agriculture) ordinances were brought in, I told the cabinet to consult more people. I was told that they will do that when the ordinances become law,” she said.

    “They gave us the laws and told us to take them to farmers. When we did that, we understood the apprehensions of the farmers. We gave a letter to the agriculture minister,” she said.

    Badal also quoted the report of the working committee on agriculture which was headed by Narendra Modi as Gujarat chief minister in 2011 and said how it pitched for the minimum support price as a guarantee.

    “Some ministers first called it as an agitation of middlemen, then Maoists, then terrorists and then Khalistanis,” she said.

    Participating in the debate, BJP member Nishikant Dubey challenged Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to prove his accusation that workers of the saffron party were behind the January 26 violence at the Red Fort in Delhi.

    “He (Chowdhury) said that BJP workers were involved in January 26 violence. If it is proven, I will resign as an MP. Congress has a history of distortion. He should apologise for distorting the facts,” he said.

    Meanwhile, YSR Congress Party MP Krishna Devarayalu Lavu lauded the efforts of the Jaganmohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh.

    Lavu alleged that the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was playing divisive politics in the state.

    His remark invited sharp reactions from TDP MP Jayadeva Galla.

    In his speech, TDP leader Srinivas Keshineni praised the central government for the efficient management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    He, however, opposed the proposed disinvestment of Vishakapatnam steel plant and recalled the movement that was launched to set up the industry.

    Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Danish Ali raised the ongoing farmers’ agitation and described how the peasants were braving the cold and waiting to get their demands fulfilled.

    “Several international voices have come. Our party’s stand is clear that we don’t welcome international interference in our internal affairs. But who gave them this opportunity?” he said.

  • Rakesh Tikait address ‘mahapanchayat’ at Kurukshetra, criticises PM Narendra Modi’s remark on protesters

    By PTI
    KURUKSHETRA: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait Tuesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Andolan-jivi’ (professional protestors) remarks and asked if people like great freedom fighter Bhagat Singh will also be put in that category.

    Addressing a well-attended ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ at Gumthala Garhu village in Pehowa in this district, a third within a week in Haryana, he said the government should not be under the wrong impression that the protesting farmers will return to their homes without their demands being accepted.

    Without naming the Prime Minister or using his ‘Andolan-jivi’ phrase, Tikait said, “In Parliament, they are saying these are parjivis (parasites). Was Bhagat Singh who sacrificed his life for this nation a parjivi? What about 150 farmers who died during this agitation? Were they parjivis too? Had they gone to Delhi to agitate and die?”

    ALSO READ: PM Narendra Modi should ask MPs, MLAs to give up pension, use funds to support youth, says Rakesh Tikait

    Speaking in Rajya Sabha on Monday, the prime minister had hit out at those behind the farmers’ protests, saying a new “breed” of agitators called “Andolan jivi” has emerged in the country who cannot live without an agitation and the nation should guard against them.

    Kurukshetra is a land of ‘kranti’ (revolution) and ‘nyay’ (justice) and that is why the ‘mahapanchayat’ is being held here to get justice for the farmers, he said.

    Tikait also alleged that attempts were being made to divide the protesting farmers on the lines of region and other considerations, and appealed them to reject any such design.

    “They will try to divide you on Punjab-Haryana lines, as Sikh and non-Sikh, Hindus and Muslims..,” he alleged.

    ALSO READ: No ‘ghar wapsi’ till farmers’ demands are met, says BKU leader Rakesh Tikait

    “The farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s farm laws is nationwide and not limited to Punjab or Haryana.”

    “We will win this fight,” he declared.

    Projecting the 40 farmers unions spearheading the agitation as fully united, he said, “We have said we will neither change ‘Panch’ (leader) nor ‘Manch’ (stage).”

    “We have always said that if government has to talk there are 40 representatives they can talk to them, whatever these unions decide will be acceptable to us,” he said.

    Tikait said the protesting farmers will divide their time between home, fields and the agitation.

    Every farmer’s family, he said, is required to participate in the stir by sending at least one person at the Delhi border protest sites while other members would continue to work in their fields.

    ALSO READ: Ready to take agitation across the nation, says Rakesh Tikait

    He said the protesters are prepared for a long struggle to get the three laws repealed and would visit other states like Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka and Odisha to garner farmers’ support for their struggle.

    He said that a farmer does not transfer his agriculture land to even his son during his lifetime, how he can give it to the corporates.

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

    “Over the past two days, they have brought this new issue of small farmers, saying this (agitation) is not fight of small farmers but that of big farmers who are coming in tractors,” he said, attacking the Centre.

    He appealed to the farmers to not be misled by such things.

    ALSO READ: At Singhu border, Rakesh Tikait’s cutouts, posters and badges of farmers stir draw crowd

    He claimed farmers have come under debt “due to wrong policies of the government”.

    He reiterated that the protesters demanding the rollback of the contentious agri-marketing laws will stay on Delhi’s borders till October 2 and there will not be any compromise on the demands.

    “Those occupying the seats of power, their purpose is something else…We don’t have to fall in their trap. We have to concentrate on our agitation. No business over hunger will not be allowed in this country,” he said.

    Rejecting the Centre’s assertions that farm laws were in the interests of farmers, Tikait claimed these legislations will adversely impact not just farmers but other sections too.

    “The PDS system will be finished, the poor will be impacted. Small traders will be finished, small businesses will be finished and farmers will be destroyed. Only malls and godowns will survive,” he said.

    Tikait also said while salaries of MPs, MLAs have increased by up to 500 percent over the years, rates of farmers crops have gone up by only 19-23 percent.

    Meanwhile, singer Rupinder Handa, who was also present at the event, announced to return the ‘Lok Gayika Puraskar’ award given to her by the Haryana government four years ago to protest alleged apathetic attitude of the ruling dispensation towards farmers’ demands.

    “Internet was suspended, farmers are not being supported. The government which did not respect farmers, I thought there is no point in keeping this award,” Handa told reporters later.

    Thousands of farmers have been protesting against the three farm sector reform laws enacted by the Centre in September last year.

    The Centre has been saying these laws will bring in new farming technologies and free the farmers from the clutches of middlemen.

    The farmers have been rejecting these claims, saying these laws will harm their interest.

  • Farm laws not religious scriptures that changes cannot be made: Farooq Abdullah

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: National Conference member Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday said the new farm laws are not religious scriptures that changes cannot be made as he appealed to the Centre to hold a dialogue with the agitating farmers and come out with a solution.

    He was speaking during the discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President’s address.

    “I just want to make this request on the farmers’ issue. It is not a ‘Khudai kitaab’ (religious scripture) that we cannot make changes. But we have made law. If they (farmers) want it to be scrapped, why can’t you talk to them,” he said.

    “I would request you with folded hands that let us not stand on prestige…This is our nation. We belong to this nation and if we belong to this nation let us respect everybody in this nation,” Abdullah said, adding, “Come out with a solution.”

    He also urged the law minister to bring some law to stop such activities.

    Abdullah also asserted that Lord Ram belongs to the whole world.

    “Ram belongs to all of us. The way Muslims have held on to the Quran, the Quran is not just ours.”

    He also accused NDA MPs of questioning the stature of political visionaries such as Jawaharlal Nehru and said that he feels really bad when he see that fingers are being pointed at India’s first prime minister, Sardar Patel, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and other leaders.

    “It is not Indian parampara. Respect those who have gone,” he stressed.

    On the recently-concluded District Development Council (DDC) polls, he said, these happened peacefully but now elected members were being purchased to force the members to vote for others.

    Congratulating Indian scientists and the Serum Institute of India for developing a vaccine against coronavirus, he said that as of now very few people were being vaccinated and efforts should be made that more and more people get the jab.

    He also said that the virus has badly hit the tourism industry in Jammu and Kashmir and he has no words to explain the poverty of the people in the Union territory.

  • Opposition asks government to shed its ‘arrogance’ over farm laws

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Opposition members on Tuesday asked the government in Lok Sabha to shed its “arrogance” over the three farm laws even as BJP MPs hailed the Centre for its welfare and pro-farmer measures.

    Speaking during the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President’s address, Preneet Kaur of the Congress dubbed the three Acts, which have triggered protests, as black laws and asked the government to repeal them.

    She referred to “Khalistani” and “Maoists” barbs used by some people against a section of protesting farmers and said this was wrong while adding that a brother of a protester was a soldier who had laid down his life in the Galwan Valley clash with Chinese soldiers in Ladakh.

    “This government is a real threat to our democracy not farmers,” she said, asking the government to shed its arrogance.

    BJP’s Dilip Saikia praised the government’s welfare schemes for the poor and farmers.

    He focussed on the government’s emphasis on boosting infrastructure in Assam and the Northeast in general, adding that the state has got an AIIMS.

    Several medical colleges have also been launched in Assam by the state dispensation, he said.

    During the China war in 1962, the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had left the entire Northeastern region to its fate, Saikia alleged, and said it is the Modi government which has worked to boost connectivity, infrastructure and other development works there.

    He praised the annulment of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and also the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

    TMC’s Saugata Roy alleged that several Union Ministers are doing “political tourism” in West Bengal.

    In an apparent reference to the upcoming state assembly polls, he said it was a battle between “Bengali and outsiders” and said the state cannot be ruled from Gujarat.

    He also took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his ‘aandolan-jivi’ jibe and said the BJP’s ideological forebears never went to jail during the freedom struggle.

    Roy also demanded repeal of the farm laws.

    BJP’s Rita Bahuguna Joshi hailed the prime minister for his “foresight” in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic.

    While opposition members have been targeting him, Modi has been steadfast in his resolve to serve the poor and farmers.

  • Supreme Court notice to Centre on plea seeking implementation of new farm laws

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Tuesday sought response from the Centre on a plea by a firm seeking implementation of the controversial new farm laws and its inclusion as a member in the committee formed by the top court to resolve impasse between the government and farmers protesting against the legislations.

    A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian issued notices to the Ministry of Law and Justice and Ministry of Agriculture while tagging the plea with similar petitions.

    The apex court was hearing a plea filed by an Aligarh-based company seeking immediate direction to the Central government and Uttar Pradesh government to implement the three laws — the Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act.

    The plea filed by Ramway Foods Limited and others stated that the petitioners cannot be made to suffer contrary to the favourable legislation which is enacted with the aim and object for the increasing the yield and remunerative price framework.

    “There are about 2000 Roller Flour Mills throughout India, which are producing Atta, Maida, Suji and Bran at large scale. These Roller Flour Mills are the major consumers of wheat used as raw material.

    The apex court on January 12 had stayed the implementation of controversial new farm laws till further orders and decided to set up a 4-member committee to resolve the impasse over them between the Centre and farmers’ unions protesting at Delhi borders.

    “Since the Petitioners are major stakeholders of the farm produce they are entitled to have a member in the Committee Constituted by this Court vide interim and other connected matters, so that the grievances/ hardships of the Petitioners who are supporting the impugned laws may be duly considered/addressed upon and hearing before the Committee submits any report,” the plea said.

  • ‘If PM had shed some tears on death of farmers…’: Jayant Chaudhary slams Modi

    By PTI
    ALIGARH: RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi getting emotional in the Parliament on Tuesday, saying had he shed some tears on the deaths of farmers during their protest, the situation would not have come to such a pass.

    Addressing a farmer ‘mahapanchayat’ (large congregation) near Iglas in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district, Chaudhary said the farmers’ protest had now turned into a people’s movement that was gathering momentum with each passing day, adding that there was no turning back.

    Pointing out to Modi’s speech, Chaudhary said: “If the PM had shed some tears on the death of large number of farmers during the farmers protest, the situation would not have come to such a pass”.

    Modi broke down several times in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while reminiscing about his close association with Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, whose term is coming to an end next week.

    Chaudhary said they were are not against modernisation of the farm sector.

    READ| PM Modi bids tearful adieu to outgoing Rajya Sabha MP Ghulam Nabi Azad

    “Every sector needs reforms, but the thrust of such reforms should take into consideration that the size of farm holdings in India is shrinking with the passage of time,” he said.

    Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi’s borders since November-end demanding a repeal of the contentious central farm laws, which they fear would pave the way for the dismantling of the regulated wholesale markets and the minimum support price system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.

    Reforms can only be meaningful if the genuine interests and ground realities of the farming community are factored in before launching the measures, the RLD leader said.

    Chaudhary said the government was now thinking of selling the public sector undertakings (PSUs) like the Life Insurance Corporation as part of the unprecedented disinvestment drive.

    He warned that the relentless disinvestment of profit-making PSUs would totally ruin the country’s economy and the only a handful of corporates would gain.

    The RLD leader said by drastically cutting the outlay of the mid-day meal programme, the Modi government had clearly defined its priorities.

  • ‘If PM had shed some tears on death of farmers…’: Jayant Chaudhary slams Modi

    By PTI
    ALIGARH: RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi getting emotional in the Parliament on Tuesday, saying had he shed some tears on the deaths of farmers during their protest, the situation would not have come to such a pass.

    Addressing a farmer ‘mahapanchayat’ (large congregation) near Iglas in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district, Chaudhary said the farmers’ protest had now turned into a people’s movement that was gathering momentum with each passing day, adding that there was no turning back.

    Pointing out to Modi’s speech, Chaudhary said: “If the PM had shed some tears on the death of large number of farmers during the farmers protest, the situation would not have come to such a pass”.

    Modi broke down several times in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while reminiscing about his close association with Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, whose term is coming to an end next week.

    Chaudhary said they were are not against modernisation of the farm sector.

    READ| PM Modi bids tearful adieu to outgoing Rajya Sabha MP Ghulam Nabi Azad

    “Every sector needs reforms, but the thrust of such reforms should take into consideration that the size of farm holdings in India is shrinking with the passage of time,” he said.

    Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi’s borders since November-end demanding a repeal of the contentious central farm laws, which they fear would pave the way for the dismantling of the regulated wholesale markets and the minimum support price system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.

    Reforms can only be meaningful if the genuine interests and ground realities of the farming community are factored in before launching the measures, the RLD leader said.

    Chaudhary said the government was now thinking of selling the public sector undertakings (PSUs) like the Life Insurance Corporation as part of the unprecedented disinvestment drive.

    He warned that the relentless disinvestment of profit-making PSUs would totally ruin the country’s economy and the only a handful of corporates would gain.

    The RLD leader said by drastically cutting the outlay of the mid-day meal programme, the Modi government had clearly defined its priorities.

  • Farmers’ protest: Two Haryana farmers die at Singhu and Tikri borders

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The three Two farmers from Haryana died in unrelated incidents at the Singhu and the Tikri border protest sites on Delhi borders, police said on Tuesday. Harinder (50) died of possible heart attack at the Singhu border, while Deepak (28) succumbed to head injuries he received after falling off a tractortrolley at the Tikri border, they said.

    Harinder, from Panipat’s Siwah village, was found motionless this morning near the Singhu border protest site, a police official said. “He was found dead and it is suspected that he died of a heart attack. However, once the postmortem report comes the exact cause of death will be known,” he said.

    Deepak, who was from Haryana’s Rohtak district and was providing voluntary services at Tikri border protest site, died after sustaining serious head injuries when he fell off a tractor- trolley, police said on Tuesday.

    He was hospitalised at PGIMS, Rohtak, where he died on Monday during treatment, Jhajjar district’s Aasoda Police Station SHO Kuldeep Singh said over the phone. “Deepak was sitting in the tractor-trolley and distributing ration (to farmers sitting in protest at Tikri). He fell down and sustained head injuries. He died during treatment at PGIMS Rohtak,” the officer added

    . He said the accident took place at Bahadurgarh bypass road on February 5. Thousands of farmers have been protesting since late November at Delhi borders, demanding a rollback of the three Agriculture Laws. 

  • Congress MPs from Punjab to move Bill in Lok Sabha to repeal farm laws

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Congress MPs from Punjab will move a private member’s bill in Lok Sabha to repeal the three contentious new farm laws.

    Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Manish Tewari told reporters that the Repealing and Amendment Bill 2021 will be moved in the Lower House by a group of party MPs from Punjab including himself, Preneet Kaur, Jasbir Singh Gill and Santokh Chaudhary.

    Tewari said they will seek the support of fellow MPs from other parties who have sympathies for the farmers and support their stand on the new legislations.

    Asked whether a similar bill could be introduced in Rajya Sabha, he said they will request their counterparts in the Upper House to do so.

    For over two months now, thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi borders against the three farm sector reform laws which were enacted in September last year.

  • BJP promises to double farmers’ income, but stands against them during crisis: Pilot

    He reiterated the demand of withdrawal of the Centre #39;s three contentious farm laws, saying the Congress is in support of the farmers.