News Analysis India

Tag: Farmers Protest

  • ‘Every farmer-labourer a satyagrahi’: Rahul Gandhi compares current protests to Champaran agitation

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday compared the ongoing farmers’ protests against the three new Central agriculture-related laws with the Champaran agitation during the British rule, and said every farmer-labourer part of the current movement is a ‘satyagrahi’ and they will take their rights back.

    “The country is going to face a Champaran-like tragedy. British were ‘company Bahadur’ back then and now Modi-friends are ‘company Bahadur’,” Gandhi alleged in a tweet in Hindi.

    “But, every farmer-labourer of the movement is a ‘satyagrahi’ who will take back their rights,” the former Congress chief said.

    The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was led by Mahatma Gandhi and is considered a historic event in India’s independence movement.

    It was a farmer’s uprising that took place in Champaran district of Bihar during the British colonial period when the farmers protested having to grow indigo with barely any payment for it.

    The Congress has been seeking the repeal of the three new farm laws, alleging that they will ruin farming and the farmers.

    ALSO WATCH:

    The Congress is also supporting the farmers’ agitation against the legislations.

    After the sixth round of formal negotiations on Wednesday, the government and farm unions reached some common ground to resolve protesting farmers’ concerns over rise in power tariff and penalties for stubble burning, but the two sides remained deadlocked over the main contentious issues of the repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP).

    Braving the cold, thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, are protesting at various borders of the national capital for more than a month against these laws.

    The government has presented these laws as major agriculture sector reforms aimed at helping farmers and increasing their income, but the protesting unions fear that the new legislations will leave them at the mercy of big corporates by weakening the MSP and mandi systems.

  • Heavy rains, winter add to woes of farmers protesting at Delhi borders

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Overnight rains in the national capital added to miseries of farmers who have been camping on the borders of Delhi for over a month in protest against new farm laws, with the continuous downpour leading to waterlogging at agitation venues.

    Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar, who is a member of Sankyukt Kisan Morcha, said on Sunday that farmers have waterproof tents but they cannot protect them from biting cold and waterlogging.

    “The situation is very bad at protest sites due to rain which has caused waterlogging. There is so much cold after the rains, but the government is not able to see our misery,” he said.

    ​ALSO READ | Congress asks Centre to abandon ‘obstinate attitude’, withdraw new farm laws

    Gurwinder Singh, who is camping at Singhu Border, said there is waterlogging at some places as civic facilities are not up to the mark.

    “Despite facing several problems, we will not move from here until our demands are met,” he asserted.

    According to a MeT Department official, heavy rainfall was reported in areas across Delhi and minimum temperatures have increased due to clouding and easterly winds.

    “Safdarjung observatory recorded a minimum temperature of 9.9 degrees Celsius, an increase of 6.7 degrees with 25 mm rain. Palam observatory recorded a minimum temperature of 11.4 degrees Celsius with 18 mm rain. Rain with hail storm is expected until January 6,” the official said.

    ALSO WATCH:

    Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at three Delhi border points — Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur — for more than a month, demanding repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) and other two issues.

    Bharatiya Kisan Union Ugrahan leader Sukhdev Singh, whose Union is leading the protest at Tikri border, said arrangements made by farmers to brave the cold weather are not helping much because of rains and subsequent waterlogging.