The crowd at the protest sites in Delhi's Singhu and Tikri borders was visibly thin on Thursday two days after the tractor parade turned violent, even though the farmer unions said it was because the protesters, who had come to the national capital to take part in January 26 march, have returned home.
The Uttar Pradesh government grappled on Monday with the aftermath of violence during a farmers protest in Lakhimpur Kheri, lodging a case against Union minister Ajay Mishra's son, promising a probe by a retired high court judge and stopping opposition leaders from reaching the trouble spot.
Thousands of farmers from across Maharashtra reached Mumbai on Sunday evening to participate in a rally at the state capital on Monday against the Centre's three new farm laws.
India's capital -- New Delhi -- is witnessing farmers from Punjab and Haryana sitting in at the Singhu and Tikri border points for the past five days, braving water cannons, tear gas and the biting cold. Their reason to protest - the Centre's new farm laws. Here's what it looks like.
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, are protesting at various borders of the national capital for more than a month against the laws and are demanding that these be repealed.
The Congress also claimed that the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP was the "B-team" of the BJP in Gujarat.
"It was a rehearsal for the proposed January 26 tractor parade," Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) leader Shingara Singh Mann told PTI over the phone.
Farmer leaders also announced their plans to block the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway for 24 hours on April 10.
He said the parties rejected by the electorate are pushing their own political agenda by misleading farmers.
The SKM had said that the rail blockade will held across the country from 12 pm to 4 pm.
Likening Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the character of an arrogant king, 'ahankari raja', from stories of yore, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said he is unable to understand that the 'jawan' who has kept the country safe is also the son of a farmer.
They also said they will observe the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on January 23 as 'Azad Hind Kisan Diwas'.
With farmers on Thursday blocking railway tracks across the country, at stations big and small, protesters at Singhu said it proves that the agitation is not just limited to Punjab and Haryana.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday said that farmers do not want an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi adding that they do not want to tarnish his image abroad.
Priyanka said the party's fight will continue till the laws are scrapped.
Dhankhar, who took to cricket in his school days and also had keen interest in spirituality and meditation, began his political journey with the Janata Dal and won the Lok Sabha elections in 1989.
'If there is no outcome at Tuesday's meeting, then on the 30th thousands of tractors and farmers will march on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway.'
Total burden on the exchequer will increase by Rs 12,000 crore to Rs 87,217.50 crore for the year 2019-20.
His remarks at the Maharajganj rally come against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine from where India is trying evacuate thousands of its citizens. Modi, however, did not specifically mention the crisis.
A joint forum of central trade unions has given a call for a nationwide strike on March 28 and 29, to protest against government policies affecting workers, farmers, and people. The Joint Platform of central trade unions held a meeting in Delhi on March 22, 2022, to take stock of the preparations in various states and sectors for the proposed two-day all India strike on 28-29 March 2022 against "the anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-national policies" of the central government, a statement said. The statement said that roadways, transport workers and electricity workers have decided to join the strike in spite of the impending threat of ESMA (Haryana and Chandigarh, respectively). Financial sectors, including banking and insurance, are joining the strike, it stated.
Tikait said the minister's son was seen by many people at the spot on the fateful day.
Farmers' union body the Samyukta Kisan Morcha on Tuesday disassociated itself from those who indulged in violence during the tractor parade, and alleged some "antisocial elements" infiltrated their otherwise peaceful movement.
Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the farmers who broke barricades in some places in Haryana.
Tractors carried the flags of the unions, some sported the tricolour, and also posters with slogans of 'Kisan Ekta Zindabad', 'No Farmer, No Food' and 'Kaale Kanoon Radd Karo'.
'Why should the government keep these laws on hold for 1.5 years when they are so disastrous for the interests and well-being of farmers?'
Addressing a press conference at Singhu border, a representative of protesting farmers said that they will continue their agitation until their demands are met.
Festivals of Lohri and Bhogi were celebrated in various parts of the country with fervour on Wednesday while Indians geared up for Makar Sankranti on Thursday.
While the RLD has fought the just-concluded polls in tie up with the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, the office-bearers of the BKU, which was part of the anti-farm laws protest against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre, insists it is an 'apolitical' group.
"We wanted to give a strong message to the government that we will not leave this site until we win this fight," said Ramjit Singh.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha on Wednesday said that a consensus has been reached over a revised draft proposal of the Centre on their pending demands and it will now meet on Thursday to decide the future course of the movement, even as its leaders demanded a formal communication on government letterhead.
"Dear Naddaji, Stop losing cool and all sense of propriety. Please remember -- 10,000 security personnel were deployed for PM's rally. All arrangements were made in tandem with SPG and other agencies," Randeep Surjewala said on Twitter.
Agitating farmer groups on Thursday held a four-hour nationwide 'rail roko' agitation with the railways saying there was negligible impact on services though some trains were stopped by officials at stations as a precautionary measure.
Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar, who is a member of Sankyukt Kisan Morcha, said on Sunday that farmers have waterproof tents but they cannot protect them from biting cold and waterlogging.
'Now the very government we helped to form is telling us we are enemies of the nation!' The BKU has stayed away from direct participation in politics. But this time they are not so sure, reports Aditi Phadnis.
With multiple health camps at these protest sites, immediate medical assistance is always at the farmers' disposal in case a protestor develops symptoms like fever or breathlessness.
'We felt it is our responsibility to stand by the farmers' and extend support of the whole of Maharashtra, Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray saahab'
The farmer leaders insist that the crowd is merely shifting from one spot to another to mobilise more people to join the movement.
Apart from Ghanwat, agri-economists Ashok Gulati and Pramod Kumar Joshi are the other members of the panel.
The umbrella body of over 40 farmer unions said at a press conference that two days before the session begins, a "chetavani patra" (warning letter) will be given to all the opposition MPs to protest the laws inside the House.
