News Analysis India

Tag: Farmers stir

  • Protesting farmer unions to hold Tiranga rallies on Independence Day

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Farmers protesting against the Centre’s three agri laws would observe Independence Day as ‘Kisan Mazdoor Azadi Sangram Diwas’ and would take out Tiranga marches across the country, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) announced on Wednesday.

    In a statement, the SKM, which is an amalgam of 40 farmer unions, said “farmers and workers shall take out Tiranga marches to block, tehsil, district headquarters or their nearest Kisan Morcha or dharna” on August 15.

    “These marches will be taken out with the national flag on cycles, bikes, carts, tractors, etc,” it said.

    The SKM here also reiterated their earlier decision that no “official flag hoisting functions” or “march with the national flag” would be opposed by farmers till August 15.

    However, its decision of boycotting BJP leaders and its allies would continue for all other political and governmental activities, it noted.

    During the ongoing ”Kisan Sansad”, which completed its 10th day on Wednesday, the farmers here passed resolutions against the three black laws as well as against the proposed bill on Air Pollution and the Electricity Amendment Bill.

    The mock Parliament also witnessed the farmers tabling a “bill” providing a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the agriculture produce.

    Various speakers during the discussion highlighted the failure of the existing system to offer a remunerative price or even cost price to the farmers, it added.

    The Kisan Sansad is being organised by farmers who have been protesting against the Centre’s three contentious farm laws at multiple Delhi borders since November last year.

    Over 10 rounds of talks with the government that has been projecting the laws as major agricultural reforms have failed to break the deadlock between the two parties.

    As part of these Kisan Sansad sessions, 200 farmers from the protest sites participate in the mock Parliament session at Jantar Mantar during which issues concerning the farming community are discussed.

  • Samyukta Kisan Morcha says BJP’s ‘Tiranga Yatra’ in Haryana plan to instigate, defame farmers

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Sunday appealed to Haryana farmers not to oppose the ‘Tiranga Yatra’ of the state’s BJP unit claiming that it was a “devious plan” to instigate and defame farmers.

    The umbrella body of 40 farmer unions said in a statement that the other programmes of boycott and flag protests against the BJP and the JJP will continue.

    “The proposed ‘Tiranga Yatra’ of the BJP’s Haryana unit is mainly to instigate farmers and defame them.

    SKM urged farmers to see through this devious plan of BJP, and to not let this dirty tactic, under the guise of the national flag, succeed,” it said in the statement.

    The Haryana BJP’s two-week-long ‘Tiranga Yatra’ ahead of the 75th Independence Day began from Bhiwani on Sunday, with party’s state chief O P Dhankar claiming that thousands of farmers also joined the event.

    Dhankar, along with state Agriculture Minister J P Dalal, rode a tractor with tricolour fixed on its both sides during the ‘yatra’, which was taken out on a 30-km-long route from Bahal to Loharu.

    The SKM also said the ‘Kisan Sansad’ will continue at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Monday.

    “The Kisan Sansad, despite the site of the Sansad in Jantar Mantar being flooded with water, is functioning in a disciplined manner, with detailed deliberations.

    In Chhattisgarh, a parallel Kisan Sansad was run by the state Kisan Sabha on Friday, in solidarity with the Kisan Sansad near the Parliament,” it said.

    The Kisan Sansad is part of the latest strategy of the farmers who have been protesting against the Centre’s three contentious farm laws at multiple Delhi borders since November last year.

    The farmers have expressed fear that the new laws will eliminate the Minimum Support Price system and leave them at the mercy of the big corporations.

    Over 10 rounds of talks with the government that has been projecting the laws as major agricultural reforms have failed to break the deadlock between the two parties.

    As part of these Kisan Sansad sessions, 200 farmers from the protest sites participate in a mock Parliament session at Jantar Mantar during which issues concerning the farming community are discussed.

  • Centre ‘insulting’ farmers, it must repeal farm laws: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: After the Centre said it has no record of farmers who have died during the agitation at Delhi’s borders against three agri laws since 2020, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday alleged that the government has been constantly “insulting” the farmers and demanded that it must repeal the legislations.

    Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar informed Parliament on Friday that the government has no record of farmers who have died during the agitation at Delhi’s borders against three new farm laws since last year.

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    “The BJP government said in Parliament that neither it made any effort to know farmers’ opinion on the three black agri laws nor does it have any data on how many farmers have been martyred,” Priyanka Gandhi said.

    Alleging that the government was looking at the issue from the prism of its “billionaire friends”, the Congress general secretary said this government is “constantly insulting farmers”.

    She made the remarks in a tweet in Hindi using a Hindi hashtag which translated to “Take back black farm laws”.

    Farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at Delhi’s borders since November last year in protest against the three laws.

    Out of them, a small group of 200 farmers are now staging a protest at Jantar Mantar in central Delhi after getting special permission.

  • Shiromani Akali Dal promises government job to kin of farmers who died during farm laws’ stir

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday promised government job to the kin of farmers who died during the agitation against the Centre’s farm laws if the coalition led by his party comes to power in the state.

    The SAD president also assured free education to children and grandchildren of the farmers who lost their lives during the protest. The SAD is contesting the 2022 Assembly polls in the state in alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

    “Today, I assure Punjabis: Immediately after forming the govt in 2022, SAD-BSP will honour the martyrs of Kisan Andolan with one govt job per family, free education to their children & grandchildren till post-graduation & health insurance cover to the entire family,” said Badal in a tweet.

    Today, I assure Punjabis: Immediately after forming the govt in 2022, SAD-BSP will honour the martyrs of #KisanAndolan with one govt job per family, free education to their children & grandchildren till post-graduation & health insurance cover to the entire family.@Akali_Dal_ pic.twitter.com/240jQ5e9DZ
    — Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) July 9, 2021

    In a video posted on his Twitter handle, Badal said for the past seven months, farmers have been camping at the Delhi borders, demanding repeal of the “black” farm laws brought by the Modi government at the Centre.

    He said that more than 550 farmers have “laid down” their lives during this agitation. “If the SAD-BSP alliance comes to power, its first decision will be to provide government jobs to a family member of the each farmer who died during the agitation,” Badal said.

    He also hoped that farmers would be victorious in their agitation against the three farm legislations.

    Farmers mostly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been camping at Delhi borders since November last year, demanding 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 guarantee minimum support price for crops.

    However, the government has maintained that the laws are pro-farmer. Several rounds of talks between farmers and the government have failed to break the deadlock over the three laws.

  • Farmers in Punjab and Haryana protest against fuel, cooking gas price rise

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Farmers in Punjab and Haryana on Thursday held protests at several places in the twin states against the hike in fuel and cooking gas prices. The call for the protest from 10 am till 12 noon was given by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is spearheading an agitation against the Centre’s three farm laws.

    Protesters parked their tractors and other vehicles on the roadside and shouted slogans against the Union government over the rising prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas. Some of them also brought empty LPG cylinders to the protesting sites as a mark of protest.

    Agitating farmers also honked their vehicles for a few minutes, saying it was done to “wake up” the government from “slumber”. The farmers slammed the government for not being able to control the prices of essential commodities.

    Police personnel were deployed in strength near the protest sites to maintain law and order, officials said. Protests were held at many places in Mohali, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Moga, Rupnagar in Punjab and Sonipat, Sirsa and Gohana in Haryana.

    Farmer leader Harmeet Singh Kadiyan, who led the protest in Ludhiana, slammed the BJP-led government at the Centre over the increasing prices of fuel and cooking gas. Every day, prices of fuel are going up which is adversely affecting every section of the society, he said.

    In Moga, a protester said rising prices of diesel would increase the farmers’ input cost. In Haryana’s Sirsa, a protesting farmer brought a camel to pull a four-wheeler as a mark of protest against the rising fuel prices. Agitating farmers said their demonstrations were peaceful.

    Thousands of farmers have been camping at Delhi’s borders since November last year demanding 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 guarantee minimum support price for crops.

    However, the government has maintained the laws are pro-farmer. Several rounds of talks between farmers and the government have failed to break the deadlock over the three central controversial legislations.

  • Request protesting farmers to return home: Union Minister Piyush Goyal

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: As farmers’ protest against the new farm laws entered eighth month, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday appealed to protesting farmers to end their agitation and return home.

    He said Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has also appealed to farmers to end the protest while stating that the government is ready to resume talks on the provisions of the three farm legislations.

    “I will request that farmers return to their homes. The law is pro-farmer and farmers across the country have welcomed it,” Goyal told reporters here.

    ALSO READ | Centre ready to talk to protesting farmers, but not on repeal of three agri laws: Narendra Singh Tomar

    He added that protesting farmers can give their suggestions.

    The government and farmer unions have held 11 rounds of talks so far, the last being on January 22, to break the deadlock and end the farmers’ protest.

    Talks have not resumed following widespread violence during a tractor rally by protesting farmers on January 26.

    Farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at Delhi’s borders for seven months now in protest against the three new farm laws that they say will end state procurement of crops at minimum support price.

  • Farmers’ adamancy on repeal of farm laws won’t serve any purpose: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said the protesting farmer unions should not remain adamant on repeal of the new central farm laws, adding that making it a precondition for talks with the government does not serve any purpose.

    He also claimed that only a “handful of people” were opposing the farm laws and that “common farmers are happy”.

    “Those spearheading the agitation are in reality not farmers. Real farmers have no objection with the farm laws, they are happy,” he said.

    The chief minister further alleged that those opposing the farm laws are only doing so due to political reasons.

    “Their Punjab team is doing so because polls are approaching there. But there are no polls due in our state. Here the agenda is to defame the government using political angle. And the Congress is also supporting them in this,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Withdraw cases lodged against farmers for protest marches: Samyukt Kisan Morcha

    Khattar said the word “kisan” (farmer) is a sacred one, but some incidents like the alleged sexual exploitation of a woman from West Bengal at the Tikri border last month have “prompted people to raise questions”.

    On Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s appeal to the protesting farmers to end their agitation and his invitation for talks, Khattar said, “The farmer unions are adamant on only one thing — repeal of the farm laws — without being able to pinpoint at any shortcomings of the laws.”

    “It does not serve any purpose if they remain adamant on just one thing and making it a precondition for talks with the government,” he said at a press conference here.

    “What I feel is that Kisan word is a very pious word. Everyone, including me, the government, common people, believe those leading this agitation have faith and respect towards farmers. But the sad part which has come out of this agitation is that some incidents have happened prompting people to raise questions,” he said in an apparent reference to the sexual exploitation incident at Tikri border.

    The Haryana Police had last month launched a probe into allegations by the father of the victim woman, who died after showing COVID-like symptoms, at a hospital in Bahadurgarh in Jhajjar district, that she had been raped by two men she had accompanied to the farmers protest site at Tikri border.

    The CM also referred to the death of a 42-year-old man whose family members alleged that he was set on fire by four people in Bahadurgarh.

    According to the complaint lodged by the victim’s brother, the four men were part of the ongoing farmers agitation at the Tikri border near Delhi.

    “There has been sexual assault, murder, and also disputes with local people about roads being blocked for which even panchayats have been held,” Khattar said.

    He also referred to the alleged targeting of BJP-JJP leaders in the state over the farm laws.

    “I condemn their undemocratic way of work. We are exercising restraint. And what are they (those spearheading the stir) saying that the ministers, MLAs, chief minister, deputy CM cannot go to attend public functions. After all those running the government, it is their responsibility to go among the people and listen to them,” he said.

    “We have always exercised restraint as they (protesters) are our own people, we do not want confrontation. When they say some things, we tolerate it as they are our own people. But exceeding it beyond limit is not in anyone’s interest,” he added.

  • Withdraw cases lodged against farmers for protest marches: Samyukt Kisan Morcha

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Sunday demanded the withdrawal of cases registered against farmers during their protest marches on Saturday to mark seven months of their agitation against the Centre’s three farm laws.

    SKM, the umbrella body of farmer bodies spearheading the agitation, said the Chandigarh police has booked several farmer leaders on several charges.

    Farmers on Saturday marched towards the Raj Bhavan in different states to submit memoranda, addressed to the president, and to governors to mark seven months of protests against the Centre’s three farm laws.

    “In Chandigarh, it is reported that FIRs have been filed against several SKM leaders and many other protestors under IPC sections 147, 148, 149, 186, 188, 332 and 353,” the SKM said in a statement.

    It alleged that after barricading the roads, the “police also resorted to using water cannons and lathicharge on the protestors”.

    “On top of this kind of undemocratic and authoritarian behaviour, cases are now being filed against SKM leaders.

    Samyukt Kisan Morcha condemns this and demands that the FIRs be withdrawn immediately and unconditionally,” it said.

    In many places, farmers were not allowed to even take out rallies to Raj Bhavans and there were detention and lock-ins of SKM leaders, it said.

    “SKM condemns this and points out that this itself is an illustration of the failure of democracy and the undeclared emergency that we are going though,” it said in the statement.

    Noting that cases have been filed against 15 farmers in Hisar who had taken part in a protest against a BJP meeting on June 25, the SKM said the FIRs should be withdrawn immediately.

    The farmers started their stir against the contentious farm laws in November by camping at Singhu border between Delhi and Haryana, besides at Tikri and Ghazipur borders.

    The protesting farmers have demanded the withdrawal of the Centre’s farm laws and that a new law be made to guarantee minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.

    The protesting farmers will mark Monday “Kisan Mazdoor Bhaichara Diwas” at Sunehra protest site near the Haryana-Rajasthan border, it added.

  • Farmers to submit memorandums to Governors against farm laws on Saturday

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: To mark the completion of seven months of the ongoing farmers’ agitation, the farmers will take out a tractor rally on Saturday in the national capital and will submit memorandums to Governors across the country against the three farm laws.

    While speaking to ANI, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) youth wing president Gaurav Tikait at Ghazipur (Delhi-Uttar Pradesh) border said, “We’ll submit memorandums to Governors (for repeal of new farm laws) across the country today. The movement will remain peaceful.”

    Farmers camping at Delhi’s Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders will observe today as the “Save Agriculture, Save Democracy Day” to mark the completion of seven months of their agitation.

    The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) said it will send a memorandum from all over India to the President on June 26, on farmers’ “anguish and indignation” and appeal to him regarding getting the farmer laws repealed, and to get a legal guarantee of minimum support price for farmers.

    Meanwhile, police and paramilitary forces have been deployed to maintain the law and order situation in the national capital in view of farmers’ tractor rally. According to official sources, intelligence agencies have alerted Delhi police and other agencies that Pakistan-based ISI proxies may sabotage the proposed farmers’ protest.

    A letter has been sent to Delhi Police and other agencies concerned. After receiving the letter, adequate arrangements have been made by the Delhi Police. “Adequate security arrangements have been made and some metro stations will also remain shut for a few hours on Saturday,” sources said.

    As a precautionary measure and to avoid any turbulence in the law and order situation, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has decided to keep three Metro stations — Vishwavidyalaya, Civil Lines and Vidhan Sabha shut from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday. The step has been taken on the advice of Delhi police, which has also made elaborate security arrangements.

    Several farmer groups are also expected to join the protesting farmers at Delhi’s border points today.

    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.

  • Farmers to protest outside houses of BJP lawmakers across India on June 5

    By PTI
    GHAZIABAD: Farmers protesting the contentious farm laws will hold demonstrations outside the residences of BJP lawmakers across the country on Saturday, a Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) office-bearer said on Friday.

    The protest outside the residences of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs and MLAs is to mark the one year of the promulgation of these laws as ordinances by the Centre, the official said.

    “The protestors would burn the copies of the legislations outside the residence of BJP MPs and MLAs across the country as a symbolic protest against the Centre,” BKU media in-charge Dharmendra Malik told PTI.

    “In districts where there is no BJP MP or MLA, the protest would take place outside district magistrate’s office,” he added.

    The decision for the June 5 protest was taken during a recent meeting of leaders of the farmers’ associations and unions which are camping on Delhi borders since November 2020.

    Hundreds of farmers are encamped at Delhi’s borders demanding 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 guarantee minimum support price for crops.

    However, the government, which has held multiple rounds of formal dialogue with the protestors, has maintained that the laws are pro-farmer.