News Analysis India

Tag: Farmers Protest

  • Unidentified young man brutally murdered at the Singhu border

    By Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH: In a shocking incident a  young man was brutally murdered at the Singhu border for allegedly desecrating Guru Granth Sahib – the holy book of the Sikh community. The victim’s left wrist was found cut off and was found tied to an overturned police barricade near the main stage of the protesting farmers.

    A video has gone viral which shows a group of Nihangs (Sikhs warrior group) standing over the man. They are being blamed for the brutal murder which took place on early Friday morning at the protest site in Kundli of Sonipat district of Haryana.

    Some of the Nihangs, who were carrying spears are seen asking the person to tell his name and village of residence. While the man was seen hanging with his wrist cut off and bleeding, nobody around was offering any help. 

    Sources claim that the Nihangs beat up this person to death who is yet to be identified for allegedly desecrating the Guru Granth Sahib. It is alleged that they later hung his body upside down on the police barricade

    The police was not allowed to enter the area initially but Haryana Police was later able to move the body to the Civil Hospital.

    The incident has already caused huge outrage among the farmers.

    BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya was quick to react and criticise farmers’ leader Rakesh Tikait over the incident .”Had Rakesh Tikait not justified mob lynching in Lakhimpur, with Yogendra Yadav sitting next to him and maintaining sanctimonious silence, the gory murder of a youth at Kundali border would not have happened. Anarchists behind these protests in the name of farmers need to be exposed,’’ he tweeted.

    Meanwhile, the Haryana Police has registered a case. “We got information early in the morning that a person has been murdered and his body is left hanging near the main stage where the farmers are protesting. A case has been registered against unknown persons and investigation is on,’’ said a police official.

  • Man brutally murdered at Singhu border, Nihang surrenders before police

    Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH:  In a shocking incident, a 35- year-old man belonging to the Scheduled Caste community was lynched, his left wrist cut off and his mutilated body was found tied to a police barricade near the main protest site at Singhu near the Delhi- Haryana border on Friday.

    The victim, Lakhbir Singh, hailing from Cheema Khurd village in Punjab’s Tarn Taran, was working for the Nihang Sikhs as a volunteer, police said. The Samyukta Ki san Morcha said the Nihangs have claimed responsibility for the killing saying the man tried to desecrate the Sarbloh Granth, the holy book of the Sikhs. Singh was reportedly tied with ropes to a police barricade and his hand was chopped off.

    Deep wounds were inflicted on his legs also. Initially, he was hanged upside down. After he bled to death, his body was positioned upright, sources said. A Nihang, Sarabjeet Singh, has surrendered before the police taking responsibility for the killing.

    BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya was quick to react and criticise farmers’ leader Rakesh Tikait over the incident .”Had Rakesh Tikait not justified mob lynching in Lakhimpur, with Yogendra Yadav sitting next to him and maintaining sanctimonious silence, the gory murder of a youth at Kundali border would not have happened. Anarchists behind these protests in the name of farmers need to be exposed,’’ he tweeted.

  • Lakhimpur Kheri incident: Varun Gandhi shares clip of ex-PM Vajpayee’s speech supporting farmers

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Thursday posted on Twitter a short clip of a speech of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from 1980 in which he warns the then Indira Gandhi government against repressing farmers and extends his support to them.

    Gandhi tweeted, “Wise words from a big-hearted leader…” The BJP MP has been vocal in empathising with farmers agitating against the three agri laws enacted by the Modi government and sharing Vajpayee’s speech is seen as his message to the central government.

    Wise words from a big-hearted leader… pic.twitter.com/xlRtznjFAx
    — Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) October 14, 2021
    In the video clip, Vajpayee is heard telling a gathering that farmers cannot be scared. “If the government will suppress (farmers), misuse laws and repress a peaceful agitation, then we will not shy away from joining the farmers’ struggle and standing with them,” he is heard saying.

    Gandhi has also sought stringent action against those responsible for the death of four farmers after vehicles, allegedly linked to BJP leaders, ran over them in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri. He was recently dropped from the BJP national executive in what was seen as an indication of the party leadership’s unhappiness with the Pilibhit MP.

  • Lakhimpur violence: Congress delegation meets President, demands sacking of MoS Ajay Mishra

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A delegation of Congress leaders, including former party president Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday met President Ram Nath Kovind demanding the immediate dismissal of Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

    The delegation of senior Congress leaders also presented a memorandum of facts about the Lakhimpur Kheri incident to the President.

    Four farmers were among eight people killed in the violence on October 3.

    The Congress has been demanding the immediate dismissal of the Union Minister of State for Home whose son Ashish has been named in the FIR and is accused of mowing down farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3, and strict action against the accused in the killing of farmers.

    Ashish was arrested on Saturday by the Uttar Pradesh Police in connection with the violence.

  • Congress leaders observe ‘Maun Vrat’ in protest against Lakhimpur Kheri violence

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI/PATNA: Congress leaders are observing a ‘Maun Vrat’ (vow of silence) across the country as a protest against the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

    They are also demanding the dismissal of the Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra whose son was arrested in connection with the incident.

    ALSO READ: Lakhimpur Kheri violence case: SIT to seek Ashish Mishra’s police remand

    Congress leaders are sitting on the ‘Maun Vrat’ in front of central government offices in the headquarters of almost all states.

    The Congress had earlier instructed state chiefs to carry out a protest in the form of a satyagraha.

  • Repeal farm laws, guarantee MSP: Rakesh Tikait says agitation will continue till all demands are met

    By PTI

    MUZAFFARNAGAR: The farmers’ agitation will continue till all demands are met, including repealing of the three farm laws and legal guarantee on minimum support price for crops, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait has said.

    Talking to reporters in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district on Sunday evening, he said that the Centre is overlooking “the one-year long agitation of farmers in which 750 farmers have died”.

    Farmers have been protesting against the legislations at Delhi border points since their enactment in September last year and demanding these be repealed.

    Tikait claimed that farmers’ income has not increased despite the price of goods.

    The three farm laws and the BJP are “anti-farmer”, he said, claiming that the government is not ready for a dialogue to resolve the issue.

    The BJP government at the Centre only supports industrialists, he alleged.

  • Video claiming Punjab regiment jawans protesting with farmers is fake: Indian Army

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: The Indian Army on Sunday clarified that the video circulating on social media showing army personnel standing with civilians under a tent saying that Punjab regiment soldiers are protesting with farmers was fake.

    The Army officials further clarified that the ex-servicemen of the unit had arranged tea for the serving personnel while they were moving from one location to another.

    “A video is circulating on social media showing Indian Army jawans standing with civilians under a tent saying that Punjab regiment soldiers are protesting with some farmers. This is fake news,” an army official said.

    “Ex-servicemen of the unit had arranged tea for the serving personnel while they were moving from one location to another,” he added.

    Farmers have been protesting at different sites since November 26 last year against the 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.

    Farmer leaders and the Centre have held several rounds of talks but the impasse remains. 

  • Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Sena to take part in October 11 Maharashtra bandh to support farmers

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday said his party will participate with full force in the October 11 bandh in Maharashtra to protest against the killing of farmers in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri.

    Addressing a press conference along with NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik and state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant, Raut said it was necessary to wake people up against the anti farmer policies of the Central government.

    Farmers are not alone in this fight and the process of showing solidarity with them must begin from Maharashtra, Raut asserted.

    The Shiv Sena leader said he had discussed the need for a joint opposition strategy with NCP’s Sharad Pawar and Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, adding that other states must follow Maharashtra’s lead to express solidarity with farmers.

    Eight people, including four farmers, had died in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3.

    The farmers died after being knocked down by vehicles reportedly carrying BJP workers, after which an angry mob allegedly lynched some people in these vehicles.

  • Farmers to burn effigies of PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah on Dusshera

    Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH: Demanding dismissal of the Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra and arrest of his son Ashish Mishra the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Saturday decided to burn the effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and local leaders on Dusshera. The SKM also announced a nationwide rail blockade on October 18 and farmers’ mahapanchayat in Lucknow on October 26.

    The SKM, umbrella organisation of farmers union, in its general body meeting at the Singhu border has raised doubts over the investigations carried out by the Uttar Pradesh Police into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed. SKM leaders Balbir Singh Rajewa, Yogendra Yadav, and Rakesh Tikait said that Ajay Mishra should be dismissed from the cabinet and arrested on charges of spreading disharmony, and murder and conspiracy. While his son Ashish Mishra (Monu) and his associates (in whom the names of Sumit Jaiswal and Ankit Das have surfaced) who have been accused of murder, should be immediately arrested.

    Rajewal, Tikait, and Yadav announced that on October 12 ‘antim ardaas’ (Bhog ceremony) will be held in Lakhimpur Kheri and asked all supporters to either come to Lakhimpur Kheri for the `antim ardas’ or remember those who had died at their local gurudwara, temple, mosque, church, or protest site. If this is not possible, people can light five candles in memory of those killed in “Lakhimpur Kheri on October 12 four farmers and a journalist, ‘’said Yadav.

    They added that if the demands are not accepted by October 11, then the Samyukt Kisan Morcha will launch a nationwide protest program. After the Antim Ardas, Shaheed Kisan Yatra will be taken out from Lakhimpur Kheri by taking the ‘asthi’ of martyr farmers. This yatra will be started by carrying separate ‘asthi kalash’ for each district of Uttar Pradesh and each state of the country. The yatra will conclude at a holy or historical place in every district and state.

    “On Dusshera the farm union will burn effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath besides other local leaders. Some of the members wanted to burn the effigy of Manohar Lal Khattar, some of Yogi Adityanath, so we decided that the third effigy could be of any local villain,’’ Yadav said.

    The leaders announced a nationwide `rail roko’ protest from 10 AM to 4 PM on October 18 and a farmers’ mahapanchayat in Lucknow on October 26.

    The farmer leaders said that they have rejected the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and judicial inquiry set up by the UP Government, noting that the Supreme Court had also said it was not satisfied.

    Farmer leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan, who heads BKU (Ugrahan) the largest farm union of Punjab), said that the central government has adopted a violent approach against protesting farmers but the farmers would not take the path of violence.

    Tikait also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his `silence’ on the incident.

    “The Lakhimpur Kheri massacre will be remembered as a painful chapter in the history of the farm movement of India. This incident has completely exposed the character of the Union Government, the Uttar Pradesh Government, and  Bharatiya Janata Party which is in power at both places. BJP is not ready to take any step against its leaders and others even after there is clear evidence of such a big murder and involvement of BJP leaders in it. It is clear that the BJP has now turned to violence after losing ground in the face of this historic farm movement,’’ they said.

  • Farmers to burn effigies of PM Modi, HM Shah on Dusshera

    Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH, October 9: Demanding dismissal of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra and arrest of his son Ashish Mishra the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Saturday decided to burn the effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and local leaders on Dusshera. The SKM also announced a nationwide rail blockade on October 18 and farmers’ mahapanchayat in Lucknow on October 26.

    The SKM, umbrella organisation of farmers union in its general body meeting at the Singhu border has raised doubt over the investigations carried out by the Uttar Pradesh Police Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed. SKM leaders Balbir Singh Rajewa, Yogendra Yadav, and Rakesh Tikait said that Ajay Mishra should be dismissed from the cabinet and arrested on charges of spreading disharmony, and murder, and conspiracy. While his son Ashish Mishra (Monu) and his associates (in whom the names of Sumit Jaiswal and Ankit Das have surfaced) who have been accused of murder, should be immediately arrested.

    Rajewal , Tikait, and Yadav announced that on October 12 ‘antim ardaas’ (Bhog ceremony) will be held in Lakhimpur Kheri  and asked all supporters to either come to Lakhimpur Kheri for the `antim ardas’ or remember those who had died at their local gurudwara, temple, mosque, church, or protest site. If this is not possible, people can light five candles in memory of those killed in “Lakhimpur Kheri on October 12 four farmers and a journalist, ‘’said Yadav.

    They added that if the demands are not accepted by October 11, then the Samyukt Kisan Morcha will launch a nationwide protest program. After the Antim Ardas, Shaheed Kisan Yatra will be taken out from Lakhimpur Kheri by taking the ‘asthi’ of martyr farmers. This yatra will be started by carrying separate ‘asthi kalash’ for each district of Uttar Pradesh and each state of the country. The yatra will conclude at a holy or historical place in every district and state.

    “On Dusshera the farm union will burn effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath besides other local leaders. Some of the members wanted to burn the effigy of Manohar Lal Khattar, some of Yogi Adityanath, so we decided that the third effigy could be of any local villain,’’ Yadav said.

    The leaders added that on October 18 a nationwide `rail roko’ protest from 10 AM to 4 PM and a farmers’ mahapanchayat in Lucknow on October 26.

    The farmer leaders said that they have rejected the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and judicial inquiry set up by the UP Government, noting that the Supreme Court had also said it was not satisfied.

    Farmer leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan who heads BKU (Ugrahan) the largest farm union of Punjab) said that the central government has adopted a violent approach against protesting farmers but the farmers would not take the path of violence.

    Tikait also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his `silence’ on the incident.

    “The Lakhimpur Kheri massacre will be remembered as a painful chapter in the history of the farm movement of India. This incident has completely exposed the character of the Union Government, the Uttar Pradesh Government, and  Bharatiya Janata Party which is in power at both places. BJP is not ready to take any step against its leaders and others even after there is clear evidence of such a big murder and involvement of BJP leaders in it. It is clear that the BJP has now turned to violence after losing ground in the face of this historic farm movement,’’ they said.