Tag: farmers' protest

Morning Digest: Roads to be freed of toll booths in a year, says Nitin Gadkari; EU drug regulator backs AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 after safety investigation, and more

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India will implement a GPS-based toll collection system and do away with all toll booths within a year, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday. He also shared details of the vehicle scrapping policy, first announced in the Union Budget for 2021-22, according to which the automobile industry in India will see a jump in turnover to ₹10 lakh crore from ₹4.5 lakh crore.

Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde agreed with advocate Prashant Bhushan on Thursday to urgently hear a plea by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms to stay the sale of a new set of electoral bonds on April 1, before Assembly elections in crucial States such as West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Top U.S. and Chinese officials offered sharply different views of the world on March 18 as the two sides met face-to-face for the first time since President Joe Biden took office. In unusually pointed remarks for a staid diplomatic meeting, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi took aim at each other’s policies at the start of two days of talks in Alaska.

The EU’s drug watchdog said on March 18 it is still convinced the benefits of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the risks following an investigation into reports of blood disorders that prompted more than a dozen nations to suspend its use.

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Insurance Amendment Bill 2021 that increases the maximum foreign investment allowed in an insurance company from 49% to 74%, amid criticism from the Opposition parties on the clause enabling “control and ownership” by foreign investors.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday forbade judges from making gender stereotypical comments like “’good women are sexually chaste”, women who drink and smoke ‘ask’ for sexual advances or presume that a sexually active woman consented to rape while hearing cases of sexual offence.

Union Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday that climate activist Disha Ravi’s arrest was based on law and order and it is under judicial process. He added that the House should consider “should some people abuse social media internationally to defame India to promote secessionism.”

Former Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arvind Subramanian resigned from Ashoka University on Thursday, days after noted columnist and political commentator Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s exit. In his resignation letter, Dr. Subramanian, said he had been “devastated” by “the circumstances involving the ‘resignation’ of Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta” two days earlier.

In a major embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), two candidates announced by the party on Thursday for the Assembly polls from Kolkata have refused to contest on the party’s ticket.

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed suo motu proceedings before the Delhi High Court on the administration of COVID-19 vaccine and transferred the case to itself. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde said a similar case concerning the vaccination drive was already pending in the Supreme Court, and the case from the Delhi High Court could be heard along with it.

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to urgently hear a plea to release and protect over 150 Rohingya refugees reportedly “detained” in Jammu. Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde agreed to hear the application filed by a member of the Rohingya community, Mohammad Salimullah, represented by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Cheryl d’Souza, on April 25 (Thursday). Mr. Bhushan made an oral mention before the CJI for an early hearing.

The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the supplementary demand for grants (second batch for 2020-21) but not before significant concerns raised by Opposition leaders on the government’s disinvestment and asset monetisation plans, and rising fuel prices.

If Ishan Kishan was unfortunate to be ruled out of the fourth T20I due to a groin strain, lady luck smiled on his replacement Suryakumar Yadav. The Mumbai cricketer, dropped for the previous outing after not having faced a ball on his debut in the second T20I, grabbed his chance and made it count.

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Farmers to Intensify Agitation with Bharat Bandh, Burning Farm Laws on Holi

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Intensifying their agitation against the three farm laws, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha on Wednesday met with different mass organisations and associations to strategise for their ‘Sampurna Bharat Bandh’ on March 26. Addressing a press conference, Ranjit Raju of Ganganagar Kisan Samiti said that during the nationwide strike on March 26, which also marks four months of the farmers’ movement, all shops and other business establishments will remain shut for 12 hours. On March 28, the protestors will burn copies of the three laws during ‘holika dehan’, he added.

“The strike will start from 6 in the morning and will continue till 6 in the evening, during which all shops and dairies and everything will remain closed. “We will burn the copies of the three laws during Holi and hope that better sense prevails in the government, and it repeals the laws, and gives us a written guarantee for MSP,” Raju said.

According to farmer leaders, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s call for the bandh had found support in trade unions from organised and unorganised sectors, traders and arhtiya associations, workers’ unions, including agricultural workers unions, transporter associations, teachers’ associations, youth and students associations. “We are also trying to create such meetings at the state-level so that the strike is observed everywhere,” said another farmer leader Purushottam Sharma.

All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) leader Krishna Prasad said the fact that the movement had managed to continue for as long as 112 days was an achievement in itself, and it would only get stronger. He added that the Bharat Bandh will be held at “state, zila, tehsil and village levels”.

“The protest has been going on for 112 days. That itself is an achievement. Neither you, nor us had thought that we could do this, and the public has shown that it supports us,” he said. Prasad also expressed concerns over the central government’s move to introduce the Electricity Amendment Bill 2021, claiming that any amendments made to the act would be in violation of the commitment made by the government to the farmers in January.

“During the 11 rounds of talks that we have had with the government, Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar said that they accepted our demands over the electricity bill. “The media wrote that 50 per cent of the demands of the farmers’ movement were resolved. But, now they are trying to introduce the act again. This is cheating,” he said.

An SKM statement said that several organisations had also committed to mobilising thousands of people at the protest sites at a time when the protesting farmers would have to attend to wheat harvesting operations in a couple of weeks’ time. The leaders also announced their plans to organise a “Shaheed Yadgar Kisan Mazdoor Padyatra” between March 18 and 23.

“Preparations are underway for the people from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab to join the Shaheed Diwas events marking the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on March 23,” the statement said. One ‘padayatra’ will start on March 18 from Lal Sadak Hansi in Hisar in Haryana and will reach Tikri Border, another will start from Khatkar Kalan village in Punjab and pass through Panipat before reaching Singhu Border, and the third padayatra will begin in Mathura and will be headed towards Palwal.

Enacted in September, the three farm laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country. The protesting farmers, on the other hand, have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and do away with the “mandi” (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates. TRS AAR AAR 03172043 NNNN.

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Cong MP Urges Centre to Resolve Farmers’ Issue

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File photo of Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu.

File photo of Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu.

Ravneet Singh Bittu said the farmers have contributed most to the growth of India and many of them have even protected the country at the borders.

  • PTI New Delhi
  • Last Updated:March 17, 2021, 15:17 IST
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The Congress on Wednesday urged the Centre to resolve the ongoing farmers’ protests over three agriculture laws and warned that if turmoil begins again in Punjab, the whole country will suffer. Raising the issue of farmers protests in Lok Sabha, the leader of the Congress party in the Lower House, Ravneet Singh Bittu, also requested Speaker Om Birla to invite leaders of all political parties for a meeting to find a solution to the demands of the tillers.

Bittu said the farmers have contributed most to the growth of India and many of them have even protected the country at the borders. He said action must be taken as early as possible to find a solution to the ongoing farmers’ protests, else the situation may aggravate.

Bittu said Punjab, from where most of the farmers have come for the protests at Delhi’s borders, is a border state and explosives were being transported across the border on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) every day. ”Earlier, just one drone used to come from across the border. Now, every day 30 to 40 drones are coming with 30 to 40 kg of RDX and other explosives. You have to try to find a solution. Because if there is turmoil again in Punjab, the whole country will suffer,” he said.

The farmers have been protesting at Delhi’s borders since November-end blocking major roads demanding repeal of three agriculture laws enacted last year.

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FIRs against ‘unknown people’ for raising permanent structures at farmers’ protest site

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Four days after farmers who have been protesting at the Tikri border for the last three months started raising brick and cement structures in the area, two FIRs have been registered against “unknown” people in Jhajjar for raising “permanent structures” and “illegal boring”.

The FIRs have been lodged at the Sadar Bahadurgarh police station and the City Bahadurgarh police station. The FIR at the former has been registered under Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984, and Section 283 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the basis of a complaint submitted by Siddharth Singh, Estate Officer of the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), Bahadurgarh.

In his complaint to police, Singh has stated, “It has come to the notice of this office that some unknown persons are raising permanent structures on the HSVP Dividing Road of Sector 10-12, Bahadurgarh opposite Maruti Training School and RTA Office. It is also intimated that illegal boring has also been done by some unknown persons along the road…thereby causing damage to the Government Property. Therefore, it is requested to stop the illegal construction and are requested to lodge the FIR against these unknown persons.”

Confirming an FIR had been registered, Inspector Sunil Kumar, Station House Officer (SHO) of the Sadar Bahadurgarh police station said, “An FIR has been lodged regarding the matter at our police station, and a similar one has been registered at the City Bahadurgarh police station as well. We are conducting investigations into the case under our jurisdiction, no arrests have been made yet.”

The FIR at the City Bahadurgarh police station, meanwhile, has been registered under Section 8B of the National Highway Act, and Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC on the basis of a complaint submitted by Manish Kumar, HR Manager at the Rohad toll plaza.

In his complaint, he has similarly alleged that some “unknown people are putting a bore well” near “chainage number 33650” on “National Highway 9 (Delhi-Rohtak) Bahadurgarh bypass”, “which is illegal”. He has sought that the the “encroachment” be removed.

It was on Saturday that farmers had started erecting pucca structures at both Tikri and Singhu borders. Although two FIRs had been registered regarding the structures at Singhu border in Sonipat on Saturday itself, the FIRs in Jhajjar were registered only on Tuesday.

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‘Farmers’ agitation is very strong, has a deeper connect with rural people,’ says Jayant Chaudhary

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For former MP and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) vice-president Jayant Chaudhary tells The Indian Express that the ongoing farmers’ protest at Delhi borders against the three farm laws has come as a godsend opportunity for the revival of his party, which was numerically been reduced to zero in the UP Assembly and Lok Sabha in the aftermath of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.

Since February 5, the 42 -year-old graduate from the London School of Economics and Political Science has addressed over 25 kisan mahapanchayats not only in west UP villages, but also in towns in the eastern parts of the state. Here are the excerpts of the interview:

The farmers are on the streets for over the last three months and the government is yet to resolve the issue. How do you see the present impasse as compared to other agitations, including students’ unrest in JNU and anti-CAA protest?

I think that the agrarian crisis is logically a very big issue (as compared to the other issues faced by the government so far). It must be discussed, debated and should become the prime focus of the government and also for the Opposition parties. Apart from the general agrarian distress, which had been a feature of the Indian polity of the last few decades, the present government’s obstinacy in introducing the so-called agricultural reform laws has further added fuel to the fire. This agitation is very strong and has a deeper connect with the people in the hinterland.

We have to understand that unlike any other political constituency such as the students or unemployed people or other sections of the society, the farmers have very deep roots in the society and they are a very influential vote bank also.

For the RLD, the farmers’ movement on Dehli borders has come as a political panacea for the party, which was reduced to a non-entity in the Parliament and also in the UP Assembly where its lone MLA had deserted it in 2017. Do you think that your efforts will reap dividends?

I completely agree as I can see jubilation among our cadres (after the farmers’ movement started) and the protest having an impact. Our workers are sensing that the political ground is shifting. In the last few elections, the voters had other issues in mind as they had thought that whichever government comes to power, governance for them will be equal with respect to farmers and agrarian policies. No one had estimated that such a massive earthquake will come in this form, in which the government has proceeded in changing the farm laws.

The UP Assembly elections are still far, as they are scheduled next year. Will the farmers’ movement bring about the desired political result for the non-BJP parties by 2022?

Now, everyone has been forced to rethink as a result of which a shift in the voters’ mind has also happened. The farmers’ issue is being debated in the mainstream and media, and has become the main thrust of the politics. In that sense, I think that RLD is definitely going to gain from this shift in voters’ mind.

Do you agree that the Muzaffarnagar riots have dealt a major political blow to your support base in western UP? But with things changing, will RLD gain from the farmers’ movement?

Humare bas me woh Hindu-Muslim aur woh jhagde nahi hai (The RLD cannot be a part of the differences between Hindus and Muslims). That is not the pitch on which we can bat. But now things are changing. The RLD or earlier the Lok Dal (formed by the late prime minister and his grandfather Chaudhary Charan Singh) had a very wide support base, which went way beyond caste, communalism and regions. Now, regaining that support base cannot happen overnight… Farmers from all over the country are now putting up Chaudhary saheb’s (Charan Singh) stickers, posters and images of the farmers’ movement have revived. I am happy that at least the today’s youth in our country, whether they are with the RLD or not, are remembering Chaudhary Charan Singh and are identifying with him.

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JJP MLA urges PM Modi to hold talks with farmers, says unable to enter villages | India News – Times of India

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CHANDIGARH: Jannayak Janta Party MLA Ram Kumar Gautam on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold dialogue with protesting farmers, saying people like him are unable to enter villages despite supporting the withdrawal of farm law.
“I request Modiji to get this agitation ended at the earliest through dialogue. If it prolongs, it can be dangerous,” Gautam said in the Haryana assembly while participating in a debate on the state Budget.
Referring to protests faced by the BJP-JJP MLAs in several villages, Gautam said, “People are unable to enter villages, even like me who are in favour of farmers, support their agitation and seek withdrawal of the farm laws.”
The Narnaund MLA also raised the issue of alleged corruption in the food and civil supplies department, which is headed by JJP leader and deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala.
Taking part in the debate, Independent MLA Sombir Sangwan, who had withdrawn support to the Khattar government over the farmers’ issue, alleged that corruption was rampant in various spheres.
On the farmers’ issue, he said the assembly should bring a resolution to demand from the Centre a fourth law to guarantee the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

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Morning Digest: Modi, Gotabaya speak over telephone ahead of Geneva vote; Health Minister says pollution contributes to spread and virulence of SARS-CoV-2 infections, and more

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Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed “topical developments” during a telephone call on Saturday, an official press release said, just over a week before a crucial vote on Sri Lanka at the U.N. Human Rights Council, where Colombo has sought New Delhi’s support.

There is emerging evidence to suggest that exposure to ambient air pollutants, especially PM2.5 and NO2, contribute to the spread and virulence SARS-CoV-2 infections, said Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday, while inaugurating the new green campus of Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) National Institute for Research in Environmental Health (NIREH), at Bhopal.

North Korea has not responded to behind-the-scenes diplomatic outreach since mid-February by President Joe Biden’s administration, including to Pyongyang’s mission to the United Nations, a senior Biden administration official told Reuters on March 13.

Politics seems to sit very well on Kamal Haasan. A ‘newbie’ in politics, this veteran of cinema, is comfortable with the new skin he wears. He says he hit the ground running with the launch of his party, the Makkal Needhi Maiam, in 2018, and he’s been running since. Things are hectic, possibly more than ever, but his demeanour says “relaxed” and “confident”. Here, he discusses, with The Hindu his ideology, reasons for choice of candidates, caste-politics in Tamil Nadu and missing his long-time friend Rajinikanth’s company in politics.

Sri Lanka will soon ban the burqa or face veil, a Cabinet Minister said on Saturday, as he announced the Rajapaksa administration’s latest policy decision impacting the minority Muslim community.

AIADMK leader and Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniwami on Saturday said the Puthiya Tamilagam (PT), which was in the forefront of the agitation to classify seven Dalit sub-sects under the common title ‘Devendrakula Velalar’ and to be delisted from the Schedule, has left the ruling alliance.

Eight months after the rebellion of former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, the discontent simmering in the ruling Congress in Rajasthan has come to the fore through three MLAs from the eastern parts of the State.

Just within six months of Srinagar being declared a militants-free zone, the J&K police on Saturday released a list of nine “wanted militants”, with seven recruits identified from the city and operating from the capital.

As Haryanvi singer Ajay Huda croons “Zindabad kisani, zindabad jawani”, his latest song on farmers’ protests, sons of farmers break into a jig at the Bhojpur panchayat called by the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) against the contentious farm laws.

The BJP on Saturday joined the Valley-based Muslim religious organisation in condemnation of Shia leader Waseem Rizvi’s move to approach the Supreme Court to seek removal of 26 verses of the Quran, a holy book central to the faith of Muslims across the world.

China is no longer compliant with Hong Kong’s joint declaration after Beijing announced sweeping changes to the region’s electoral system, Britain said on Saturday. “The U.K. now considers Beijing to be in a state of ongoing non-compliance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The contradictions began even before a ball was bowled. A day after India skipper Virat Kohli had stated that Rohit Sharma and K.L. Rahul would be the first-choice opening pair, the team management decided to rest Rohit for the first T20 in Ahmedabad on Friday.

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