News Analysis India

Tag: Farmers Protest

  • Tourism minister Prahlad Patel condemns action of farmers at Red Fort

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Union Minister of Tourism and Culture, Prahlad Patel on Tuesday condemned the actions of a section of farmers who entered the Red Fort as part of their tractor rally and said it violated the symbol of dignity of India’s democracy.

    Deviating from the designated route for the proposed tractor parade, a section of protesting farmers who were pushed back by the police form the ITO in Central Delhi drove their tractors to Red Fort complex.

    The crowd swelled at the monument as some protesting farmers and ‘Nihangs’ (traditional Sikh warriors) were seen entering the Red Fort and hoisting a flag from the staff from which prime minister unfurls the tricolour on Independence Day.

    “The Red Fort is a symbol of the dignity of our democracy. The farmers should have stayed away from it. I condemn the violation of this dignity. It is sad and unfortunate,” Patel said in a tweet.

    Earlier, a clash broke out between police and protesting farmers after the latter reached ITO and tried to push towards Lutyen’s Delhi, prompting the force to resort to lathicharge and use tear gas shells against them.

    The farmers who began their march from different border points, much before the time permitted to them for their tractor rally, reached ITO in Central Delhi despite the force denying them permission for it.

    The Delhi Police had given permission to farmers protesting the three farm laws to hold their tractor parade on selected routes only after the official Republic Day parade on the Rajpath concludes.

    However, chaos ensued as the farmers were adamant of heading towards central Delhi.

     

  • CPM hits out at Centre for tear-gassing, lathi charging farmers during tractor rally

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The CPM) on Tuesday lashed out at the Centre over the treatment meted out to protesting farmers during their tractor rally, and said tear-gassing and lathi charging them is “unacceptable”.

    The protesting farmers clashed with police at several places in the national capital.

    They entered the iconic Red Fort and ITO in the heart of Delhi, with hundreds of them deviating from pre-decided routes, prompting security personnel to resort to lathicharge and tear gas.

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    “Tear gassing & lathi charging Kisans is unacceptable.  Why, after the Delhi Police & Samyukt Kisan Morcha agreement? Why is the government provoking a confrontation? They must allow the peaceful, agreed tractor parade to continue,” CPM) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said in a tweet.

    Chaotic scenes were witnessed at ITO, where hundreds of protesters could be seen chasing police personnel with sticks and ramming their tractors into the buses parked by police.

  • Tractor parade: Violence is not the answer, says Rahul Gandhi

    By IANS
    NEW DELHI: After clashes broke out between the agitating farmers and the police in Delhi during the tractor march, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday denounced the violence.

    He tweeted in Hindi, “Violence is not the solution to any problem, whoever gets injured the loss is of the country. In the interest of the country the farm laws should be withdrawn.”

    Hundreds of protesting farmers reached the iconic Red Fort in the national capital as the ‘Kisan Gantantra parade’ turned violent at several places here.

    हिंसा किसी समस्या का हल नहीं है। चोट किसी को भी लगे, नुक़सान हमारे देश का ही होगा।देशहित के लिए कृषि-विरोधी क़ानून वापस लो!
    — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 26, 2021

    Farmers riding their tractors and bikes arrived at the Red Fort with the Indian National flag in their hands.

    Visuals showed farmers assembled in front of the Red Fort even as hundreds of farmers clashed with the Delhi Police personnel near ITO intersection in central Delhi, which turned into a war zone on the eve of the Republic Day.

    The visuals also showed several farmers entering into the iconic Red Fort premises, as the security personnel were outnumbered by the farmers.

    The Prime Minister hoists the national flag on August 15 here, which marks the country’s Independence Day every year.

    Meanwhile, the agitating farmers at the ITO intersection clashed with the Delhi Police personnel as they pelted stones and charged the policemen with their tractors.

    The police fired several rounds of tear gas shells and also resorted to lathi-charge on multiple occasions as the farmers remained adamant to move towards Red Fort.

    The Rapid Action Force (RAF) was soon deployed at the ITO intersection.

  • Tractor parade: Farmers at Singhu, Tikri border points enter Delhi breaking police barricade

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI Despite agreeing to the 36 conditions given by Delhi Police, the farmers at Singhu Border broke the barricades on Tuesday morning, demading to start the protest early before the agreed the time. 

    The parade was set to schedule to start after the celebrations of Republic Day in the Delhi. However, the farmers at both Singhu and Tikri border broke the barricades and entered the national capital with their march. 

    The farmers also took the route that was not suggested by the Delhi Police. However, the farrmers uniformly started the rally leaving space for emergency services as instructed by delhi Police . 

    The tractors were decorated with national flag the march began from Singhu Border and has stopped at the Kharoda Toll Plaza. 

    The farm leaders who are currently sitting at the Kharoda Toll Plaza Aichandi Border are now demanding to enter Red Fort in national capitaĺ. 

    “Wahh Guru ji ki khalsa wah guruji ki fateh. We are requesting the police to enter the national capital  to Red Fort. we will sit here till they allow us and repeal the act,” said the farmers. 

    ALSO READ | Tractor parade: Protesters erect machans to keep watch on crowd; tight security at the national capital

    A member of the Sankyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 41 unions, leading the protest against the three Central farm laws at several border points of Delhi, said those who broke the barricades belonged to the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee.

    He said the Sankyukt Kisan Morcha’s tractor parade will start as scheduled after police give farmers way.

    The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee on Monday announced that they would hold their march on Delhi’s busy Outer Ring Road on Republic Day.

    Here begins the #tractorParade #Singhborder @TheMornStandard @theparvezsultan @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/Q0nMNYoEam

    — Gayathri Mani (@gayathrireports) January 26, 2021

    Special Commissioner of Police (CP), Intelligence in Delhi Police, Dependra Pathak has said on Sunday, “The tractor rally will enter Delhi from Tikri, Singhu, and Ghazipur borders and return to its originating points. From Singhu, it will pass through Kanjhawala, Bawana, Auchandi border, KMP Expressway, and then return to Singhu.”

    The protesting unions has also announced a foot march to Parliament on February 1, when the annual Budget is presented, to press for their demands including a repeal of the three new agriculture laws.

    Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the national capital since November 26 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.

    Ram Kumar from Shamli in UP is ready to take part in parade with his own tableau at Gazipur farmers protest site.⁦@NewIndianXpress⁩ ⁦@TheMornStandard⁩ pic.twitter.com/QE9a60vOrY
    — siddhanta mishra (@siddmh_TNIE) January 26, 2021

    The eleventh round of talks between farmers and the government was held on Friday.The talks of farmer unions and the government have seemingly broken down after the former insisted on their demand for the repeal of three new farm laws and the latter asked them to reconsider its offer to put these laws on hold for about 18 months.

    Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday said that the agitation against the farm laws which has been going on for almost two months will end soon. 

    (With Agency inputs)

  • Agri law stir: Farmers to march towards Parliament on Budget day

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Ahead of their proposed tractor parade on Republic Day, protesting farmer unions on Monday announced they will march towards Parliament from different locations on February 1 when the annual Union Budget is scheduled to be presented.

    Darshan Pal of the Krantikari Kisan Union said the protesting farmers remain firm in their stand of repealing the three new farm laws and their agitation will continue till their demands are met.

    “We will march towards Parliament on foot from different locations on the Budget day on February 1.

    As far as tomorrow’s tractor rally is concerned, it will give the government an idea of our strength and they will know the agitation is not just limited to Haryana or Punjab but it is an agitation of the whole country,” he said.

    Every march or protest will be peaceful as the movement has been so far, he said.

    “The farmers who have come for the tractor parade will not go back now and will join the protest. The agitation will continue till our demands met. Our stand remains the same,” Pal told a press conference, sharing the farmers’ plans to intensify the protest.

    READ|Bring Bill in Budget Session to repeal farm laws, demands Trinamool

    Thousands of armed personnel have been deployed at the Rajpath and several border points of the national capital which has been brought under a multi-layered security cover in view of Republic Day celebrations as well as the proposed tractor parade by farmers on Tuesday.

    Protesting farmer unions opposing the three contentious farm laws said their parade will not enter central Delhi and it will start only after the official Republic Day parade concludes.

    The unions claimed that around two lakh tractors are expected to participate in their parade which will move into the city from three border points — Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur (UP Gate).

    “It will be big event in the Indian democracy. We will celebrate Republic Day in its true sense tomorrow. The way the political leaders have played with the Constitution by constantly introducing amendments that kept violating human rights, we will continue to demand that they be rectified.”

    “It is the same Constitution in which they have introduced these three laws, which have created a problem not just for the farmers but also for the entire population of the country, against which this protest has been happening for two months now. The agitation will continue until the government repeals these laws,” Balbir Singh Rajewal of Bharatiya Kisan Union, another farmer leader said.

    Jagmohan Singh, who is managing the arrangements for the Republic Day programme, said human rights violation continued to happen.

    There will be volunteers from all farmer unions but there will be 3,000 centrally allotted, jacketed volunteers, half of whom will regulate traffic, and the other half will take care of the people.

    “Besides, we have made several committees for different requirements, like the langar committee will take care of distribution the packed food, other committees will take care of the movement,” he said To maintain vigil, around 6,000 security personnel have been deployed by the Delhi police.

    Facial recognition system of Delhi Police has also been set up at vantage points for suspect identification.

    A five-layer security cover comprising of border pickets, inner, middle and outer security has been deployed in and around the city to maintain law and order during the Republic Day ceremony and the proposed tractor parade Pal also added that the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha also aims to involve Indians across the world in their Republic Day.

    “Wherever Indians are in any part of the world, we want all of them to observe the Republic Day with us,” he said.

    Enacted in September last year, the three farm laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

    However, the protesting farmers have expressed their apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of minimum support price and do away with the ‘mandi’ (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

  • Farmers’ rally: Hundreds of women to drive tractors, make their presence count

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: In a show of strength, hundreds of women are expected to drive tractors at ‘Kisan Gantantra Parade’ on Republic Day, as a large number of farmers opposing the new agriculture laws will enter the national capital under a high-security cover.

    Social activist Zeba Khan said women will be participating in the tractor rally shoulder to shoulder with their fellow male farmers.

    Khan, who is among the women participating in the rally, claimed that at least 500 women will be in attendance on Tuesday.

    “Women’s contribution was invaluable during India’s freedom struggle.

    On Tuesday also, we will be there to make our contribution to this movement,” she said.

    The activist, who hails from a family of farmers in Jharkhand, added that the rally was a crucial moment in their agitation which was “no less than a freedom struggle”.

    “The three farm laws are similar to the pre-Independence shackles of slavery.

    Through this agitation, we are making our presence noticed, and exercising our right to enter Delhi,” she said.

    Farmer unions opposing the three contentious farm laws have maintained that their parade will not enter central Delhi, and start only after the Republic Day parade concludes.

    The unions have claimed that around two lakh tractors will be there in the parade which will move into the city from three border points — Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur (UP Gate).

    Several rural women in Haryana’s Jind district have reportedly been receiving training for the past one month to drive tractors to be able to participate in the tractor rally.

    Thousands of farmers from different states have been protesting against the farm laws at various Delhi borders for nearly two months now.

    A spokesperson of Jai Kisan Andolan (Swaraj Abhiyaan) said the farmers tractor rally is expected to start at around 11:30 am on Tuesday and set to continue for 10-12 hours.

    “Fifty per cent women in Punjab and Haryana know how to drive tractors.

    Our wives, mothers and sisters are like ‘Jhansi ki Rani’,” Ram Singh Rangreta, state secretary of Sangharsh Morcha, Ambedkar, said.

    Gurmeet Singh, a protesting farmer from Patiala, said women’s participation was key to the success of the agitation.

    “These are not just any women. These are daughters of farmers, and their participation will be proof of what the farmers are capable of,” he asserted.

    Enacted in September last year, the three farm laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

    However, the protesting farmers have expressed their apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of minimum support price and do away with the ‘mandi’ (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

  • Bring Bill in Budget Session to repeal farm laws, demands Trinamool

    By IANS
    New Delhi, Jan 25 (IANS) With just five days to go for the Parliament’s Budget Session to commence on January 29, the Trinamool Congress on Monday demanded the government to introduce a new Bill to repeal the three farm laws.

    Addressing a press conference here, Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien said, “All of you know Trinamul Congress’ stand on the three farm laws and Mamata Banerjee’s commitment on the issue of land and farmers. In the upcoming session of the Parliament, the government must introduce a Bill and turn it into an Act to repeal the three farm laws.”

    “Democracy was murdered in the Rajya Sabha. The government must introduce a Bill and repeal the three farm laws,” O’Brien added.

    The Trinamool leader also compared the PM Kisan scheme to the Krishak Bandhu scheme being run in West Bengal by the Trinamul Congress government. “Under the Krishak Bandhu scheme, a farmer gets Rs 5,000 per acre, while under the PM Kisan scheme, a farmer gets Rs 1,214 per acre,” he said.

    Highlighting the other important points of the state government run scheme for the farmers, O’Brien said, “In Bengal, there is scope for all the farmers, while under the PM Kisan scheme, the benefits will be received only by small and marginal farmers with up to 2 hectares of land.”

    He said that Krishak Bandhu’s coverage is 100 per cent in the state, while PM Kisan has a coverage of only 92 per cent.

    O’Brien added that under the Krishak Bandhu scheme, if a farmer between the age of 18 and 60 years dies, his family gets a benefit of Rs 2 lakh, but there is no such provision under the PM Kisan scheme in case of a farmer’s sudden death.

  • Govt’s offer best for farmers, hopeful that unions will reconsider it, says Tomar

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday termed the government’s proposal to suspend new farm laws for 1-1.5 years as the “best offer” and hoped that the protesting farmers’ unions will soon reconsider it and convey their decision.

    The talks between the government and 41 protesting farm unions have remained inconclusive even after 11 rounds of discussions.

    During the 10th round of talks, the government had climbed down and offered a proposal to keep the new laws in abeyance for 1-1.5 years, but it was rejected by the unions.

    In the 11th round of discussion, the government asked unions to reconsider the proposal and convey their final decision.

    READ| Sharad Pawar attacks Modi govt, says farmers will ‘destroy’ new agri laws

    “The government has given the best offer to farmers’ unions. I am hopeful that they will convey their decision to us after discussing it among themselves. Once they communicate, we will take it forward,” Tomar told PTI.

    After the 11th round of talks, the minister had indicated that there won’t be further talks but he would be ready to meet for farmers’ final decision on the offer made by the government.

    It remains to be seen whether the farmers’ unions will convey their decision after their planned tractor rally or ‘Kisan Gantantra Parade’ in the city on January 26.

    Meanwhile, the Supreme Court-appointed committee on farm laws is scheduled to hold its second round of consultations with farmers and agricultural organisations on January 27.

    Notwithstanding severe cold, thousands of farmers — especially from Punjab, Haryana and parts of western Uttar Pradesh — have camped at Delhi borders seeking repeal of the new laws and a legal guarantee of government-fixed minimum support price for agri-crops.

    The farmers’ protest at Delhi borders has entered its 61st day and even peasants in other states like Maharashtra have started extending support to them.

  • BJP hatching conspiracy to refuse diesel for farmers’ tractor rally: Akhilesh

    He said instead of hatred and non-confidence, society, state and the country should be strengthened with mutual love and confidence.

  • Sharad Pawar attacks Modi govt, says farmers will ‘destroy’ new agri laws

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Centre may pass any law undermining the Constitution and on the back of its majority, but once the common man and farmers rise, they will not keep quiet until the new farm acts and the ruling party are destroyed, NCP president Sharad Pawar said on Monday.

    The former Union agriculture minister also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not enquiring about the condition of farmers agitating near Delhi borders against the Centre’s farm laws for two months now in cold weather.

    Addressing a rally organised here to express solidarity with the farmers agitating near Delhi, Pawar hit out at Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari for heading to Goa at a time when peasants from the state were to submit a memorandum to the latter against the farm laws.

    Pawar said Koshyari, who holds the additional charge of Goa, had time to meet Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut after the BMC last year demolished parts of her office here, but has no time for farmers.

    MaharashtraRevenue Minister and state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat, All India Kisan Sabha general secretary Hannan Mollah and others also addressed the rally held at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai.

    You may pass any law undermining the Constitution, not keeping in with the reputation of Parliament and destroying the Parliamentary system on the back of your majority.

    But remember one thing, once the common man and farmers of the country rise, whether you withdraw the laws or not, they will not keep quiet until they destroy you and the laws, Pawar said during the rally.

    “It has been 60 days since the farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan are protesting near Delhi.

    Did the country’s PM enquire about (the farmers)? “It was mentioned that the farmers are from Punjab.

    Does Punjab mean Pakistan?” Pawar asked.

    The NCP patriarch alleged that the farm laws were passed without detailed discussion in Parliament despite opposition parties demanding deliberations on the bills concerned.

    The bills could have been discussed by a select committee, but that did not happen, he said. people (from opposition) opposed it.

    But the laws were declared passed without discussion, This is the insult of the Constitution, the Rajya Sabha MP said, hitting out at the BJP-led government at the Centre.

    Pawar said the leaders of farmers who attended the rally in Mumbai were to submit a memorandum to Koshyari.

    We have not seen such a Governor in the history of Maharashtra.

    Lakhs of people have come here.

    “They were to submit a memorandum to the Governor. But the Governor has gone to Goa. He has time to meet Kangana, but not my farmers,” Pawar alleged.

    The NCP leader said it was the moral responsibility of the Governor to meet farmers, but the latter did not discharge that duty.

    The new agri laws, enacted in September last year, seek to encourage private trade, contract farming and remove stock limit on foodgrains.

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