News Analysis India

Tag: Harsh Mander

  • SC orders implementation of ration scheme till July 31

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed states and union territories to implement the ‘one nation, one ration card scheme’ till July 31, while asking the Centre to provide dry ration for free distribution among migrant workers till the COVID-19 situation continues.

    A bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and M R Shah issued a slew of directions on a plea of three activists seeking directions to the Centre and states to ensure food security, cash transfers and other welfare measures for migrant workers who faced distress again due to curfews and lockdowns in various parts of country during the second wave of COVID-19.

    The bench directed the Centre to develop a portal with the help of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) for registration of unorganised sector workers for granting them the benefits of welfare schemes by July 31.

    It also directed the states, UTs to run community kitchens for migrant workers till the pandemic situation continues in respective states. 

    It asked the Centre to keep allocating food grains to the states, UTs for distribution among migrant workers for free till the pandemic situation exists.

    Activists Anjali Bharadwaj, Harsh Mander and Jagdeep Chhokar had filed a plea seeking implementation of welfare measures for migrant workers.

  • Civil society members appeal for repealing new farm laws, seek withdrawal of FIRs against journalists

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Civil society members, including Aruna Roy, Prashant Bhushan and Harsh Mander, appealed on Friday for repealing of the three farm laws, enacting a legislation to guarantee MSP and withdrawing all cases filed under UAPA against farmer leaders.

    In a joint statement, a national call was given by civil society to stand in solidarity with the farmers’ movement on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary on Saturday.

    “This is a call for a fast during the day on January 30 and to keep a minute of silence across the country at 5 pm, to express solidarity with all struggles, satyagrahas and peaceful non-violent movements with a commitment to democratic and ethical probity,” they said.

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    “We appeal to all people and groups to fast and keep a minute of silence tomorrow and organise different kinds of public events to uphold peaceful struggles,” it said.

    They also appealed for repealing the three farm laws, enacting a legislation to guarantee MSP and withdrawing all cases filed under UAPA against farmer leaders, it said.

    The activists demanded that the FIR filed in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday against journalists must be withdrawn and a free-and-fair investigation should take place into the violence on Republic Day.

    The appeal was issued by former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha, former Navy chief Admiral L Ramdas, advocate Prashant Bhuhsan, former chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, activists Harsh Mander and Shabnam Hashmi, former Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed, among others.

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    “Despite the clear, unequivocal condemnation by farmers leaders, of any violence on January 26, the government has activated the criminal justice machinery to lodge FIRs against them under a range of criminal laws, including shockingly an anti-terror law, the UAPA,” they said.

    This is now becoming a familiar playbook of the ruling establishment, last seen when the citizenship movement against the CAA-NRC and its young leadership was similarly “vilified, terrorised”, charged under the UAPA and arrested, they said.

    “The fake state narrative of the farmers movement as a ‘violent conspiracy’ against India, is an exact copy-paste of the narrative we saw last year around the anti-CAA movement, once again being spun to try and tar and suppress the democratic voices of our people.

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    “Violent mobs are being deliberately incited, to target individual farmers leaders and at protest sites. Again, a page from the familiar playbook of last year,” it said.

    A press conference was organised today In support of the farmers’ movement and to strongly condemn the government’s attempt to criminalise and break” a legitimate people’s movement.

    It was addressed by Bhushan, Hashmi, Gandhi Peace Foundation secretary Kumar Prashant, economist Atul Sood and Nation For Farmers co-convener Dinesh Abrol.