November 26 would mark one year of the ongoing farmers' protests at Delhi's border points of Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur.
Tag: farmers protests
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‘Never blocked roads, we stand vindicated’: Samyukta Kisan Morcha on removal of barricades
Express News Service
CHANDIGARH: With the barricades and concertina wire put in place by the Delhi Police at the Ghazipur and Tikri borders are being removed by the police itself.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) today said that this move by the police has vindicated their stand that they never blocked roads at the border points of the national capital.
The SKM leaders said any decision to entirely clear both the carriageways at the protest sites would be taken by the morcha but a passage for traffic to move smoothly will be made in the coming days.
Senior SKM leader Darshan Pal said false allegations were being levelled against farmers that they had blocked roads, which had been rejected by them from day one.
“At Singhu border farmers had occupied the portion of road which is already closed for traffic due to construction of a flyover. Now, this move to remove the barricades by the Delhi Police proves our point that it was the police who had blocked roads and not the farmers. We never created any problem. Any bottleneck from our side will also be cleared for traffic movement.’’
The lawyers of the farmer unions argued in the supreme court that the Delhi police were responsible for the blockade at the national capital’s borders said sources in the farmers unions and added that the labourers and police personnel were removing iron nails that were studded on the at Ghazipur and Tikri borders.
Meanwhile, the barricades and cemented blocks remain intact at the Singhu border and the road remains closed for commuters.
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Former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh to meet Amit Shah on October 28 to discuss farmers’ protests
By PTI
CHANDIGARH: Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said he will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday to discuss possible solutions to the ongoing farmers’ stir against the Centre’s three farm laws.
Singh on Wednesday said he will be meeting Shah along with some agricultural experts.
“Tomorrow I am going to meet Home Minister Shah and 25-30 people will go with me,” he said while addressing the media here during which he also said that he is on the verge of launching a political party and would announce its launch as soon as the Election Commission of India approves its name and symbol.
“I think I can help in finding a solution as I have been the chief minister of Punjab and am also an agriculturist,” said Singh.
He said he had met the Union home minister thrice in the past on farmers’ issues.
While there could be no pre-decided formula for the resolution of farmers’ stir, something will emerge during the talks as both sides the Central government as well as farmers — want a resolution to the crisis triggered by the farm laws, he said.
He made it clear that he had not met any farmer leaders over the issue.
Singh said he had deliberately not interfered in the matter as the farmers did not want politicians to be involved in it.
The farmer leaders had four inconclusive meetings with the Centre but backchannel talks have been going on, he added.
Singh had earlier also met Shah in Delhi and had discussed the prolonged farmers’ stir with him while urging him to resolve the crisis urgently with the repeal of the three farm laws.
Singh had said any seat arrangement that he might make with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would be subject to a resolution of the farmers’ issue in their interest.
A large number of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and UP, have been camping at the Delhi borders since November 26 last year, demanding the repeal of the three new farm laws.
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Plea in court seeks FIR against Haryana CM Khattar for inciting BJP workers against protesting farmers
By PTI
NEW DELHI: A petition was filed before a Delhi court on Wednesday seeking registration of an FIR against Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar for allegedly inciting BJP members earlier this month to use criminal force against the protesting farmers.
The petition filed by advocate Amit Sahni alleged that there was a controversial video of the Chief Minister and BJP member recorded during a meeting with the workers belonging to party’s ‘kisan morcha’ at his residence at Chandigarh on October 3.
It claimed that in the video, the CM was seen instigating party workers to use criminal force against the protesting farmers and to create 500- 600-1,000 volunteers in every district of north and west Haryana, and be ready to face sticks, imprisonment, which will make them big leaders.
The petition, which is likely to come up for hearing before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sachin Gupta on Thursday, accused that Khattar has committed offence under various sections, including 153 (giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief).
The petition urged the court to summon the Khattar and punish him in accordance with law, and also direct the police officials concerned to conduct investigation against him by lodging an FIR.
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Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Farmers protest on Tuesday to demand sacking of MoS Home Ajay Mishra
By PTI
NOIDA: Farmers protesting against the central farm laws will hold a countrywide protest on Tuesday to demand the sacking of Union Minister Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’, whose son is an accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri episode in which eight people, including farmers, were killed.
The call for the protest has been made by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a farmer unions’ collective leading the anti-farm laws stir since November 2020 at Delhi’s borders, the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), which is part of the movement, said.
“Demonstrations would be held at administrative headquarters in every district of the country. A memorandum will be submitted to the government with a demand that the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra be removed from his post,” BKU media in-charge Dharmendra Malik told PTI.
“The pan-India protest will be supported by all farmer groups associated with the movement against the contentious farm laws. Through the memorandum, we will also appeal once again that these laws be rolled back,” Malik said.
ALSO READ: Samyukt Kisan Morcha will oppose BJP in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, says farmer leader Rakesh Tikait
He said local issues faced by farmers at regional levels and district levels will also be highlighted during the protests on Tuesday.
Four farmers were killed in Tikonia area of Lakhimpur Kheri district, the native place of the Union minister, in Uttar Pradesh on October 3 after they were allegedly mowed down by an SUV.
Later, the crowd lynched four other people, including BJP workers.
Over a dozen people, including the minister’s son Ashish Mishra, have been arrested so far by a special investigation team (SIT) which is probing the case.
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Singhu border killing: NCM gives Khattar govt 15 days to file detailed report
By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Minorities on Monday sought a detailed report from the Haryana government on the killing of Lakhbir Singh at the Singhu border. The minorities panel also sought details on the alleged desecration of the holy book of Sikhs. Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities Iqbal Singh Lalpura took suo-moto cognizance of the matter and directed the Haryana government to file a report in the matter within 15 days.
“NCM is seeking a report to be furnished within 15 days from the Chief Secretary, Haryana regarding the details of Holy book which was stated to be desecrated and comments of Jathedhar Akal Takht, Amritsar on the said action of desecration of the Holy Book and the ensuing brutal action by group of Nihangs,” the minorities panel said, in a statement.
The development comes a day after Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh termed the lynching at the Singhu border a result of the failure of rule of law and demanded a thorough investigation into the incident “so that the right side of the Sikh community could be presented to the world.”
In a statement issued on Sunday, Giani Harpreet Singh asked the government and the police not to take it as a matter of law and order in view of the religious sensitivity and emotional seriousness of the matter. He also exhorted the media to refrain from tarnishing the image of Sikhs by showing incomplete aspects of the incident.
Immediate reaction
The development comes a day after Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh termed the lynching at the Singhu border a result of the failure of law and demanded a thorough investigation
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Lakhimpur Kheri violence: ‘Rail roko’ affects 130 locations in Northern Railway zone, 50 trains affected
By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s six-hour ‘rail roko’ protest on Monday over the Lakhimpur violence affected 130 locations in the Northern Railway zone and hindered the running of 50 trains, said its chief public relation officer (CPRO).
In the North Western Railway (NWR), rail traffic was affected in some sections in Rajasthan and Haryana with two trains cancelled, 13 partially cancelled and one diverted due to the protest.
The trains that have been affected in the Northern Railway zone include the Chandigarh-Ferozepur Express.
Its scheduled departure from Ludhiana was 7 am, but has been stranded there due to a blockade in the Ferozpur-Ludhiana section, the official said.
The New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi Express was halted near Shambu station as protesters blocked railway tracks near Sahnewal and Rajpura.
“So far, 130 locations in the Northern Railway zone have been affected and operations of 50 trains hindered,” the Northern Railway CPRO said.
In Rajasthan, the agitation affected train movement in Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar of the Bikaner division.
ALSO READ | Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Cong slams PM Modi for not removing Union minister despite son’s arrest
An NWR spokesperson said rail traffic on Bhiwani-Rewari, Sirsa-Rewari, Loharu-Hisar, Suratgarh-Bathinda, Sirsa-Bathinda, Hanumangarh-Bathinda, Rohtak-Bhiwani, Rewari-Sadulpur, Hisar-Bathinda, Hanumangarh-Sadulpur and Sri Ganganagar-Rewari sections was affected due to the agitation.
The Bathinda-Rewari Special train and the Sirsa-Ludhiana Special train will remain cancelled on Monday, he said, adding the route of Ahmedabad-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Special train has also been changed.
The train which departed from Ahmedabad on Saturday will run on the changed route via Rewari-Delhi-Pathankot to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, he said.
Punjab: Farm law protestors sit on the railway track at Devi Dasspura village in Amritsar following the farmer’s union call for ‘Rail Roko Andolan’ today pic.twitter.com/lQrKImJKso
— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2021
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmer unions spearheading the agitation against the Centre’s three agri laws, had said “protests will be intensified until justice is secured” in the Lakhimpur Kheri case.All train traffic will be stopped from 10 am till 4 pm on Monday during the ‘rail roko’ protest over the demand of the dismissal and arrest of Union Minister Ajay Mishra in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri case, the SKM had said.
Four of the eight people who died in the violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3 were farmers, allegedly knocked down by a vehicle carrying BJP workers.
Angry farmers then allegedly lynched some people in the vehicles.
The other dead included two BJP workers and their driver.
Farmers have claimed that Ashish Mishra was in one of the vehicles, an allegation denied by him and Ajay Mishra who say they can produce evidence to prove he was at an event at that time.
Ashish Mishra was arrested in the case on October 9.
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Varun Gandhi warns against ‘Hindu vs Sikh’ narrative in Lakhimpur violence
By PTI
NEW DELHI: BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Sunday warned against attempts to turn the Lakhimpur Kheri incident into a “Hindi vs Sikh battle”, saying it is dangerous to create these fault lines and reopen wounds that have taken a generation to heal.
The Pilibhit MP, who was recently dropped from the BJP national executive, said the struggle for justice in Lakhimpur Kheri is about the “cruel massacre of poor farmers in the face of an arrogant local power elite”, and the issue has no religious connotations.
“To use the word ‘Khalistani’ liberally to describe the protesting farmers is not only an insult to the generations of these proud sons of the Tarai who have fought and shed blood on our borders, it is also extremely dangerous for our national unity if this provokes the wrong kind of reaction,” he said.
In a tweet, he said, “An attempt to turn Lakhimpur Kheri into a Hindu vs Sikh battle is being made. Not only is this an immoral & false narrative, it is dangerous to create these fault-lines & reopen wounds that have taken a generation to heal. We must not put petty political gains above national unity.”
Police had arrested Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra, in connection with the October 3 Lakhimpur violence.
Farmer organisations have blamed the father-son duo for the incident and are alleging that the minister had made a provocative speech while his son was inside a vehicle that hit farmers.
Both have denied the allegations.
Ashish Mishra was named in an FIR following allegations that he was in one of the vehicles that mowed down four farmers protesting over Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit last Sunday.
Two BJP workers and their driver were allegedly lynched by angry farmers in retaliation.
Local journalist Raman Kashyap also died in the violence, which has triggered a political storm and put the BJP government on the back foot in poll-bound UP.
Gandhi has been sympathetic to the farmers’ cause over their protests against three agricultural laws and often tweeted in their support, a stand which is said to have not gone down well with the BJP leadership.
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PM Modi should express grief in Parliament over death of 750 farmers during protests: Rakesh Tikait
By PTI
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi should for once express grief in Parliament over the death of around 750 farmers during the months-long anti-farm law protests on Delhi’s borders, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said on Saturday.
He slammed the BJP-led Centre over the minimum support price (MSP) issue, and alleged that the government’s assurance that the system would continue is “only on paper” and the farmers want it in reality.
Participating in a discussion titled ‘Seeds of Wrath: Fears and Facts: How to address the farm crisis’, BJP MP Rajendra Agarwal countered Tikait alleging the protest against the three Central agri laws appeared to be politically motivated.
At the conclave, Tikait said, “Farmers are protesting to get an appropriate procurement price for their crops. The government claims the MSP has been there, is there and shall remain in place but the farmers want that in reality and not just on papers.”
“The protest by farmers has its entered 11th month. The government and the prime minister should for once speak in Parliament about the 750 farmers who have lost their lives during the protest,” he said.
ALSO READ: Killing of BJP workers in Lakhimpur after car ran over farmers reaction to action says Rakesh Tikait
The PM should express grief at the loss of the lives of farmers, said Tikait, who has been leading hundreds of BKU members and protestors at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border since November 2020.
However, Agarwal said Prime Minister Modi always speaks about the farmers and has spoken about them in Parliament.
“The protest has entered its 11th month but there has been confusion about it all the time. There could be misunderstandings about the laws, but those have been debated on various platforms. The issue even reached the Supreme Court,” the Lok Sabha MP from Meerut said.
“I want to know just one point in the laws that they have an objection to. It (the protest) therefore appears to me not motivated by the interest of farmers but political agenda or political ambitions. The protest can be linked to some political parties,” Agarwal said.
All discussions about the laws have taken place and the Narendra Modi government is sensitive towards the farming community with a proven track record since 2014, he added.
To a question that MSP has not been a legal guarantee during previous governments, Tikait replied that is why those parties are not in power now.
ALSO READ: Farmers say will burn PM Modi’s effigy on Dussehra
“In 2011, a financial committee was set up with Narendra Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat, as chairman. It had recommended to the Centre that a law should be enacted guaranteeing MSP,” the BKU leader claimed.
“Today, Modi is betraying the country over something he had recommended,” he alleged.
Agarwal, the BJP leader from western UP, referred to Rakesh Tikait’s father Mahendra Tikait, to highlight the woes of farmers and claimed the new laws have liberated them from mandis, allowing them to sell their crops anywhere.
Tikait, however, insisted if Agarwal could define “anywhere”.
Hundreds of farmers are encamped at Delhi’s borders points of Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur since November 2020 with a demand that the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 be rolled back and a new law made to MSP for crops.
The protests are led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmers unions.
The Centre, which has held 11 rounds of formal dialogues with the farmers, has maintained that the new laws are pro-farmer.
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Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Video of black SUV running over protesting farmers goes viral
Express News Service
LUCKNOW: While a video clip has gone viral on various social media platforms showing a black SUV apparently mowing down protesting farmers, adding fuel to the fire over the death of nine people including four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri on Sunday, Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra reiterated that he would resign from his post if there was a single piece of evidence indicating his son Ashish’s presence at the spot of the violence on the fateful day.
“I will resign from the minister’s post if a single proof surfaces of my son being present on the spot where the incident happened in Lakhimpur Kheri,” said Ajay Mishra while talking to mediapersons on Tuesday.
Nine people, including four farmers, had lost their lives on Sunday as violence had broken out during a farmers’ protest in Lakhimpur Kheri. Farmers’ outfits have claimed that a car carrying the son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra ploughed into the group of protesters.
Tweeting the video, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who has been in police custody after being arrested by the Sitapur police in the wee hours on Monday while on her way to Lakhimpur, asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Lucknow on Tuesday, why the driver of the vehicle had not been arrested yet.
ALSO READ: Lakhimpur violence: Autopsy of deceased farmers confirms death due to hemorrhage, trauma; no bullet injury found
Priyanka tweeted the video clip along with a message for the PM wherein she questioned why the son of the minister was still out of the police net while she was in police custody illegally for more than 30 hours without any warrant. However, later the police authorities claimed that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was arrested under Sections 151 (causing disturbance to public peace), 107 (wilfull misrepresentation) and 116 (abetment of an offence) of the IPC.
The 29-second video clip, which also shows another vehicle following the SUV, has raised questions on the version of the incident by Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni who had claimed that the vehicle was attacked by farmers which led to the accident.
Deependar Hooda tweeted from Sitapur: “Those who trampled farmers are roaming free while we are in custody for 36 hours. While victim farmers’ families are mourning the death of their dear ones, Utsav is going on in Lucknow.” Even the BJP MP from adjoining Pilibhit Varun Gandhi also joined the opposition’s demand for a probe into the video, saying those responsible for deliberately ploughing through the farmers should be arrested.
ALSO READ: ‘Why the person who ran over farmers has not been arrested yet?’ Priyanka hits out at PM Modi
The Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh tweeted the same video, raising questions about the minister’s claims. “It can be clearly seen in the video that farmers were mowed down but the Union minister’s son was saying that he was busy in a wrestling competition in the village.”
Teni had claimed that his son Ashish Mishra, who is now booked for murder, was not present in the vehicle when the incident took place. He had said the protesters started pelting stones and attacked the vehicle after which the driver lost control and it ran over the farmers.
An FIR has been registered against Ashish Misra in connection with the violence.