News Analysis India

Tag: Farmers Protest

  • Now, MP Police books Shashi Tharoor, Rajdeep Sardesai, others for spreading misinformation

    Express News Service
    BHOPAL: As many as four criminal cases have been registered against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, journalist Rajdeep Sardesai and others in three districts of BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh for allegedly spreading misinformation on social media about the January 26 farmers’ tractor rally.

    The FIRs were lodged on the complaints of farmers. Among the accused are Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, Rajdeep Sardesai (India Today), Mrinal Pandey (National Herald) Zafar Agha (Urdu daily Qaumi Awaz), and Paresh Nath, Anant Nath, and Vinod Jose (The Caravan).

    The cases have been lodged at Misrod police station of Bhopal and the Sarani and Multai police stations of Betul and Shivpur police station of Hoshangabad district.

    The cases have been registered under IPC Sections, including 124-A (sedition),153-A (promoting enmity between groups), 153-B (imputation or assertion prejudicial to national integration), 295-A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings), Section 504 (intentional insult), Section 506 (criminal intimidation), 505(2) (statements conducing public mischief), 298 (uttering words, etc with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings), 120-B (criminal conspiracy to commit offence punishable by death) and 34 (acts done by several persons with a common intent).

    While confirming the lodging of the four FIRs, the in-charges of the four police stations said investigations are now underway in all the cases.  

    ALSO READ | FIR against Shashi Tharoor, Rajdeep Sardesai others for seditious tweets on farmer’s death during tractor rally

    Complainants farmer Balmukund Singh Dongre (who filed FIR at the Multai police station in Betul district) said, “I belong to a family whose prime occupation has been farming for many generations. We all were backing the farmers’ stir until the violent incidents happened in Delhi on Republic Day.”

    “The Republic Day violence is condemnable. No farmer can attack the police. Farmer is Anndaataa and not Atankwadi who will disrespect the national flag. All those involved in the violence shouldn’t be spared at any cost,” Dongre said.

    “Instead of behaving responsibly, prominent citizens, including Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor and senior journalists such as Rajdeep Sardesai and Mrinal Pandey spread misinformation about a farmer being died after being hit by bullets fired by police during the tractor rally, which was ultimately responsible for adding fuel to the massive violence across the national capital thereafter. All those named in the FIR should be sternly dealt with under the law of the land, which is why I have lodged a case against them,” the young farmer said. 

    Earlier, on Thursday a similar FIR was registered against the same persons by the Uttar Pradesh police.

  • Opposition raises slogans against three contentious farm laws in Lok Sabha

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Members of various opposition parties on Friday raised slogans in Lok Sabha demanding repeal of the three new farm laws on day one of the Budget session.

    As soon as the House paid tributes to late Union minister Suresh Angadi and 26 former members, including Jaswant Singh, Tarun Gogoi, Motilal Vora, Ahmed Patel and Ram Vilas Paswan, members from the Congress, DMK and the Left parties entered the Well of the House raising slogans.

    Shiv Sena members were raising slogans from their seats. The opposition members were demanding repeal of the three new farm laws.

    READ| Anti-farmers mob goes on a rampage at Singhu border; protest site sealed

    They were also demanding that obituary be paid to the farmers who have died during the agitation by farmers against the legislations.

    Over 20 opposition parties boycotted the president’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament in support of the demand of the protesting farmers for the repeal of the three farm laws.

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was present in the House when his colleagues were raising slogans in the Well near the Speaker’s podium.

    Speaker Om Birla urged the agitating members to return to their seats and adhere to the COVID-19 protocols, including distancing norms.

    Soon after the House met for the day, Sunil Kumar of the JD (U) took oath as a member. He had won the bypoll from Valmiki Nagar parliamentary seat late last year.

  • Agri laws stir: More farmers from Haryana to head towards protest sites

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Several farmers from parts of Haryana on Friday decided to head towards Delhi’s borders to join the ongoing agitation against agri laws, saying the government’s moves against peasant leaders will not weaken their protest.

    The Ghaziabad administration had on Thursday given an ultimatum to agitating farmers to vacate the Uttar Pradesh Gate protest site by midnight, while the Delhi Police had issued lookout notices against farmer leaders.

    A number of farmers from Jind, Rohtak, Kaithal, Hisar, Bhiwani and Sonipat will be going towards various protest sites at Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur, farmer leaders from Haryana claimed.

    At the protest site at the Uttar Pradesh Gate in Ghazipur bordering Delhi, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait broke down while speaking to the media on Thursday evening.

    READ| Farmers’ protest: ‘Locals’ clash with ryots at Singhu border; lathi-charge, tear gas used

    He alleged that “injustice” was being meted out to the farmers by the government by not repealing the new farm laws.

    “We cannot tolerate a senior farmer leader being pushed to this situation. We are all united and our stir will continue till we force the government repeal the farm laws,” said a protesting farmer near Rohtak’s Madina toll plaza on Friday.

    Farmers in Jind’s Kandela blocked the Jind-Chandigarh road late for a few hours on Thursday night.

    They were protesting against the Ghaziabad administration’s ultimatum to the protesting farmers at Uttar Pradesh Gate to vacate the site.

    Khap leader from Jind, Azad Singh Palwa told reporters in Jind that it is being propagated that farmers’ agitation has weakened, which is not the case.

    “We condemn the lookout notices to the farmer leaders. We also condemn the government for serving ultimatum to vacate a protest site.

    We want to warn the government that such moves will not weaken this agitation, but only make it stronger,” he said.

    He also said that donations will be raised from villagers and more people will be mobilised to join the agitation.

    “We will be sending tractor loads of essential supplies like food, ration, clothes for our brethren who are fighting this agitation. More people will be sent to join the stir,” he said.

    On Friday morning, a group of farmers were holding a protest near Madina toll plaza in Rohtak.

    “All farmers are united, no one can break this agitation, which will continue till these farm laws are repealed,” said a protesting farmer.

    He said the protest near the toll plaza will continue and will be intensified in the days to come.

    In Karnal, local farmers had resumed their ‘dharna’ at the Bastara toll plaza on Thursday, a day after the administration had got it vacated.

    However, on Friday there were reports of heavy police deployment near the toll plaza and administration had got the site vacated once again and normal operations at the plaza resumed.

    On Thursday, a group of protesters near the Bastara toll plaza had burnt an effigy of actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu, who has been booked in connection with the Red Fort incident in Delhi on January 26.

    On Friday, a large number of farmers reached near the toll plaza in Panipat and held a protest expressing solidarity with peasants protesting near the Delhi’s borders.

    “We condemn the lookout notices against farmer leaders. his agitation will now gain more momentum and force the government to rollback the farm laws,” said a protesting farmer in Panipat.

    The Delhi Police on Thursday issued lookout notices against farmer leaders and announced a probe into the “conspiracy” behind the Republic Day violence.

    Meanwhile, Haryana BKU chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni, in a video message, appealed to supporters to join the protest dharna sites near Delhi’s borders.

    He appealed to farmers to hold dharnas at all toll plazas in Haryana on January 30.

    Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh demanding 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 farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture.

  • This government is full of lies and deceit, says protesting farmers at Ghazipur

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The slogan “Kisan Ekta Zindabad” reverberate through the atmosphere at Ghazipur farmers protest site on this cold January night on Thursday. “This has been a peaceful protest since day one and continues to be so. Those people who climbed into Red Fort on Republic Day were planted by the BJP government to defame our campaign. We are sitting here for around two months now, not just to go back empty-handed” said Kuldeep Singh Boprai farmer from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

    ALSO READ | Group of locals demands farmers vacate Singhu border protest site

    Amid “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” sloganeering every other protestor at the site is doing a Facebook live with friends and family. Many talk about family members and friends who have already started moving to Ghazipur protest site to support the agitation.

    #BharatiyaKisanUnion leader #RakeshTikait is appealing to protestors to maintain calm and continue to protest peacefully.#FarmersProtestsExpress Video pic.twitter.com/VLmTVptk8t
    — The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) January 28, 2021

    Rakesh Tikait, national spokesperson of Bhartiya Kisan Union, is resting at the back of the stage but comes to the front in intervals to addresses the protestors and thanks them for joining.

    “This government is full of lies and deceit, my payment for sugarcane is pending for a year and my debt is mounting. Farming anyways is not profitable anymore for small farmers and now they want to take away everything from us” said Gurudyal Singh from Lakhimpur who has been sitting at the stage holding the national flag along with flag of Kisan Ekta Morcha .

    ALSO READ | Will not be intimidated by Delhi Police notices, govt trying to end movement: Samyukta Kisan Morcha

    Distrust against the government is the reoccurring sentiment across the protest site, langar service of tea and snacks continues. Since the news broke out about police forcefully removing the protestors crowd around the main stage has increased. Every other protestors mildly probes the media persons or any new face amongst the crowd.

    “More people are coming some night reach tonight others in the morning so just maintain calm and continue the protest peacefully” said Tikait addressing the protestors.

    Police officers who have visited the site said that they have met Tikait to ask about his health only. Heavy police presence at the protest site remains.

  • Group of locals demands farmers vacate Singhu border protest site

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A group of people claiming to be locals on Thursday demanded that farmers vacate the Singhu border protest site as they had “insulted” the national flag during their tractor rally on Republic Day.

    The people gathered on the road near the protest site and raised slogans against “insult” to the tricolour.

    Suresh, a 35-year-old labourer from Palla, said, “I work at a farmhouse near the border but haven’t been able to go work since December. My family depends on me. I am not against anyone’s movement, but I want them to leave. The protesters here breached security in Delhi and can do damage here as well.”

    ​ALSO READ | Will not be intimidated by Delhi Police notices, govt trying to end movement: Samyukta Kisan Morcha

    Thousands of protesting farmers clashed with the police during the tractor rally.

    Many of them, driving tractors, reached the Red Fort and entered the monument.

    They hoisted flags on the domes and placed the flagstaff at the ramparts of the national monument, where the national flag is unfurled by the prime minister on Independence Day.

    Delhi border points remained under heavy police deployment on Thursday in the aftermath of the violence that broke out during the farmers’ tractor parade in the national capital on Republic Day.

    Security personnel have also been deployed at the Red Fort.

    ALSO WATCH:

  • FIR against Shashi Tharoor, Rajdeep Sardesai others for seditious tweets on farmer’s death during tractor rally

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Noida Police has registered FIR against eight people including Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and six journalists–Rajdeep Sardesai, Mrinal Pandey, group editor of National Herald Zafar Agha, and editors of The Caravan magazine Paresh Nath, Anant Nath, Vinod K Jose for allegedly misreporting, provoking, and spreading communal disharmony during the clashes between the police and protesting farmers on Republic Day.

    The FIR has been registered under various sections of Indian penal code (IPC) dealing with sedition and for promoting enmity between different groups, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace, incite violence, and criminal conspiracy.

    The complainant Arpit Mishra, a 35-year-old resident of Noida, accused them of broadcasting offensive, misleading and provocative news that the police had killed a protestor driving the tractor. The accused also retweeted news in question through their social media handle, the FIR further says, which was lodged at Sector 20 police station.

    “The complaint is being examined and action as per the law is being taken,” said a press statement by the Noida Police.

    The FIR says that the accused acted in a prejudiced manner which jeopardised national security and public safety.

    ALSO READ | Will not be intimidated by Delhi Police notices, govt trying to end movement: Samyukta Kisan Morcha

    “As part of a conspiracy, the accused planned riots in the national capital with intention to kill public servants and incite violence….It is known fact that despite provocative activities by rowdy elements and injuries to large number of police personnel, the police force acted with restraint and control the violators with professional efficiency,” the complainant in the FIR says.

    Sardesai, consulting editor with India Today group, on January, 26 tweeted that a farmer Navneet Singh was allegedly killed in police firing during the tractor rally. However, Police said the farmer died after his tractor overturned.

    “The accused in a well-planned manner conspired with each other to spread the wrong information about the death of a farmer in police firing. It was intentionally done to incite riots at large scale and create tension among communities. The riots and tension certainly affect countries along the international border…because of their tweets protestors reached Red Fort and installed their religious and other flags where the national was hoisted,” the FIR also says.    

  • Congress slams Centre, says govt trying to divide, intimidate farmers protesting against agri laws

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday alleged that the government is trying to divide and intimidate the farmers to break their protest against the three agri laws with former party chief Rahul Gandhi saying that it was time to “choose a side” and he was with the peaceful movement of the tillers.

    Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra claimed that on Wednesday night, there was an attempt to finish the farmers’ protest by force and on Thursday farmers were being threatened at Gazipur and Singhu borders.

    “This is against every rule of democracy. The Congress will stand by farmers in this struggle. Farmers are the country’s interest. Those who want to break them are anti-national,” she said in a tweet in Hindi.

    ​ALSO READ | Will not be intimidated by Delhi Police notices, govt trying to end movement: Samyukta Kisan Morcha

    There should be strong action against violent elements, but those farmers who are protesting peacefully since months, the whole strength of the people of the country is with them, the Congress general secretary said.

    Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi, “It is time to choose a side. My decision is clear. I am with democracy, I am with farmers and their peaceful movement.”

    Earlier, at a press conference, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said that the government was not able to solve the farmers’ issue after 10 rounds of talks and then the government found a way to divide these farmers.

    “They tried to divide the farmers and they also succeeded a bit,” he said.

    Two farmer unions — the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhanu) and the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan — on Wednesday withdrew from the ongoing agitation on Delhi’s borders against the three farm laws, a day after violence broke out in the national capital during the tractor parade.

    Kharge asserted that the party strongly stands behind farmers’ peaceful movement and will take up the issue of repeal of the three farm laws in the upcoming Parliament session.

    At the press conference, another senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said there is a widespread belief that the incidents at the Red Fort were instigated by sections close to the BJP and that any government with even a rusty intelligence machinery should have known that something like this will happen.

    ALSO WATCH:

    “The fact that they allowed tractors to enter the Red Fort complex and the police stood by while no more than 500 so-called farmers, protesters climbed on the ramparts and raised the flag, shows the connivance between the government and the so called protesters,” he said.

    “So, all this means the buck stops at the Home Minister’s table…he should answer whether there was intelligence failure, he should conduct a probe into whether there was connivance between sections of the BJP or BJP supporters and the so-called protesters who entered the Red Fort,” Chidambaram said.

    Asked about Union minister Prakash Javadekar’s remarks that Rahul Gandhi had always worked to provoke protestors, Chidambaram said, “Well, I don’t think you should take the minister for misinformation and broadcasting very seriously. He has his standard reply for anything that happens in the country, he will blame Mr. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party. Has he ever responded in a different way?”

  • Farmer leaders at Singhu border take out ‘Sadbhavna’ rally to reinforce unity among protesters

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Farmer union leaders took out a “Sadbhavna rally” from the Singhu border on Thursday to reinforce a sense of unity among the protestors, two days after their tractor parade turned violent, leaving 394 security personnel injured and one agitator dead.

    Several farmer union leaders, including including Balbir Singh Rajewal, Daljeet Singh Dallewal, Darshan Pal and Gurnam Singh Chaduni, who led the rally said the march was organised “to counter the forces trying to divide the protesting farmers along religious lines and as per states” and to show that they respect the tricolour.

    Several tractors and two-wheelers with the national flag took part in the 16 km-long rally which started from the stage at the Singhu protest site and went up to the beginning of the Kundli-Manesar Palwal highway.

    ALSO READ | Will not be intimidated by Delhi Police notices, govt trying to end movement: Samyukta Kisan Morcha

    This rally was a response to the government’s allegations that the farmers insulted the national flag on Republic Day.

    Farmers from both Punjab and Haryana participated in the rally which displayed immense unity between the two states.

    “We wanted to take out this rally to show that the farmers respect the national flag more than anyone else. And this country belongs to the farmers, because it is functioning essentially because of its farmers and the labourers,” said Avtar Singh Mehma of the Krantikari Kisan Union (Punjab).

    He added that all the participating vehicles in the rally did not have their farmer union flags, but just the tricolour.

    Throughout the course of the rally, participating farmers chanted slogans of farmer unity and Punjab-Haryana brotherhood.

    ALSO WATCH:

    Jagmohan Singh, the general secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta (Dakaunda) said the rally was organised “to counter the forces trying to divide the protesting farmers along religious lines and as per states”.

    “Historically Punjabis and Haryanvis have always protected the honour of the tricolour, and now this government is making cases against us for disrespecting the national flag. We will never let the government malign the farmers’ struggle, and all of us will fight as a unified force,” Jagmohan Singh said.

    “Patriotism is not exercised just by a particular group of people” it is the families of farmers that give Indian army its soldiers. Farmers are equally patriotic if not more, he added.

    The rally comes two days after the tractor rally parade on Republic Day, which resulted in clashes between the farmers and police in different parts of the city.

  • Arvind Kejriwal calls Republic Day violence ‘unfortunate’, but says ‘it won’t end farmers movement’

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The violence on Republic Day was ‘unfortunate’, but it would not end the farmers’ movement against the Centre’s new agriculture laws, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday. He said ‘strictest punishment’ must be given to those responsible for the violence.

    Kejriwal at a meet said the farmers’ protest against the farm laws is a battle of existence for them. “The violence on Republic Day was unfortunate and whoever is responsible for it must be given strictest punishment,” he said.

    “But the violence will not lead to the end of the farmers movement, the issues still remain so the movement cannot end. We have to peacefully extend our support to the protesting farmers,” he said.“Whoever is responsible for the turn of events, and I am not referring to the ones against whom police have registered fake cases, deserves to be punished. Whoever is responsible, whichever party is responsible, should be acted against.

    ALSO READ | AAP to boycott President’s address to joint sitting of parliament over farmers’ protest

    “A nation where farmers are unhappy can never prosper. We all have to support them in our states, and our support should be non-violent. Whenever you do that, leave your party caps and flags at your homes. The support should be non-political, and you should support them as a common man,” he underlined.

    Kejriwal also claimed, “They were promised loan waivers that did not happen’ they were promised jobs to their children that did not happen. Over 3.5 lakh farmers have committed suicide in the last 25 years. Now, these three bills will snatch their livelihood, that is farming, and give it to the corporates,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Farmers’ protest comes to an end in UP’s Baghpat; protesters allege use of force by police

    ALSO WATCH:

    Addressing a press conference, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia called the violence during the farmers tractor rally part of a “conspiracy”.

    “The violence has been done under a conspiracy to discredit the farmers movement, and the real culprits of this violence are not being acted upon. The three agriculture laws must be repealed,” he said.

    The ruling AAP in Delhi has strongly come out in favour of the farmers protesting against the agri-marketing laws.

    The party had, in a statement on Tuesday, said that the Centre allowed the situation to deteriorate.

    It had said the violence “has certainly weakened the movement”, which was peaceful and disciplined over the last two months.

    Tens of thousands of farmers broke barriers to storm the national capital on Republic Day, their tractor parade to highlight their demands dissolving into unprecedented scenes of anarchy as they fought with police, overturned vehicles and delivered a national insult hoisting a religious flag from the ramparts of the Red Fort, a privilege reserved for India’s tricolour.

    (With PTI inputs)

  • Ghaziabad administration orders anti-farm laws protestors to vacate agitation site at Ghazipur

    By ANI
    GHAZIABAD: The Ghaziabad District Administration has ordered anti-farm laws protestors at Ghazipur (Delhi-Ghaziabad border) to vacate the area by late Thursday evening, official sources said.

    The administration said if protestors do not act as per order then they will be forcefully evacuated by night, they added. The police have been deployed at the protest site.

    Delhi Traffic Police informed that the Ghazipur border is closed on both sides.

    “Traffic is diverted from Road no 56, Akshardham and Nizammudin Khatta. Please avoid NH 9 and NH 24 and take an alternate route via Chilla, DND, Apsara, Bhopra and Loni borders,” police said in a tweet.

    Traffic alert pic.twitter.com/aNZfaMDhDo
    — Delhi Traffic Police (@dtptraffic) January 28, 2021

    Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Police personnel conducted a flag march at the Ghazipur border.

    Ghazipur is one of the sites where protests against the central farm laws are going on for nearly two months.

    This comes after violence broke out in the national capital on January 26 during the farmers’ tractor rally. Several public and private properties were damaged in acts of vandalism by the protestors.

    A total of 394 police personnel sustained injuries in the violence and several of them are still admitted to hospitals. Nineteen people have been arrested so far and over 25 criminal cases registered by Delhi Police in connection with the violence that broke out during the farmers’ tractor march on Tuesday, Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava had said.

    Prashant Kumar, Additional Director General (Law and Order) said the police personnel have been deployed at UP gate to look that “anti-national elements” do not infiltrate the protests.

    He said few farmer organisations voluntarily ended their protest from Chilla Border and Dalit Prerna Sthal opposing the January 26 incident.

    “As far as Baghpat is concerned, local officials told us that they explained to farmers the ongoing NHAI project and they ended the protest last night. Some people are still present at UP Gate. Talks are going on, we have deployed spotters to look for rowdy and anti-national elements so that they don’t infiltrate peaceful protests in UP. We will talk to farmer organisations and ensure that protests are called off at the earliest,” Kumar said.

    “If Delhi Police asks for our help in connection with the violence (on 26th January) we will help them. We won’t allow any such element – who did this on a national festival – in our state. People have assured us that they will not provide shelter to any rowdy element,” he added.

    Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the national capital since November 26 last year against the three newly enacted farm laws – 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.