Expressing displeasure over a tweet posted by a media organisation which falsely claimed that Chief Justice of India N V Ramana had met the kin of victims of Lakhmipur Kheri violence, the Supreme Court on Friday said it respects the media and their independence but this is 'not at all fair.'
The Supreme Court has taken cognisance of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which eight people were killed in violence during a farmers' protest, with a bench headed by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana scheduled to hear the matter on Thursday.
Families of farmers along with fellow villagers at many places in Punjab, which had once remained the epicentre of the farmers' agitation, will prepare 'ladoos', 'jalebis', 'barfi' and other sweets to welcome them, farmer leaders said.
Before bidding farewell to Singhu, some farmers performed havans and sang kirtans, and some danced to bhangra songs to mark the day as 'Vijay Diwas'.
Tikait said that farmers under the BKU will not accept anything less than a complete rollback of the laws.
Extending his support to the farmers agitating in the national capital against the three farm laws, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party workers of perpetrating the violence that took place on Republic Day at Red Fort during farmers' tractor rally.
Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) K V Subramanian on Tuesday exuded confidence that India would achieve double-digit growth in the current financial year on the back of policy initiatives and continuing reforms. He also said the country is well poised to meet the fiscal deficit target of 6.8 per cent of GDP. "At this stage, I can say confidently that we should be able to achieve that fiscal deficit number. "Any shortfalls that might happen on the disinvestment side will also be accompanied by positive surprises that have happened on tax revenue," he told reporters.
The parties that have submitted the notice include the Congress, All India Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, National Conference, Dravida Munnetra Kazagham and the Aam Aadmi Party.
The SKM had said that the rail blockade will held across the country from 12 pm to 4 pm.
Hours after making the statement, the Haryana agriculture minister said he has seen "twisted" statements, attributed to him, on social media.
Shetkari Sanghatana president Anil J Ghanwat said the panel's report was in 'favour of farmers' and will decide next week on releasing the report in the public domain.
Internet services remained disrupted for the fifth day at the site on Delhi's outskirts where protesters are occupying a stretch of the Delhi-Meerut highway since November, even as a Ghaziabad Police officer told PTI that online connectivity has been restored but there could be glitches.
Harman Preet Singh had claimed in his petition, filed through advocates Ashima Mandla and Mandakini Singh, that Delhi Police on January 27 said that it has detained over 200 persons in connection with the violence in the national capital on January 26 and 22 FIRs have also been registered thus far.
Daulatpuria, who had joined the party ahead of 2019 assembly polls after switching over from Indian National Lok Dal, announced his decision at a Panchayat held at his village Daulatpur. Talking to reporters later, he said the three agriculture laws "are anti-farmer which should be repealed immediately".
The Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre's new farm laws in Ghaziabad looked like it was going slim on Thursday but more protesters have joined the stir, following a mahapanchayat of farmers on Saturday in Muzaffarnagar, while supporters also joined in from Haryana and Rajasthan districts.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made near the Red Fort where a group of protesters climbed to the ramparts of the fort and unfurled flags on Tuesday.
Farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal appealed to people to raise black flags at their houses, vehicles and shops on May 26 to protest against the contentious farm legislations.
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 reiterated that the agitation would continue till the Centre takes back the three farm laws, and said that if need be, they could go on till 2024.
As many as 19 people have been arrested and 25 FIRs lodged in connection with the Republic Day violence in the national capital during the farmers' tractor rally in protest against the three new agri laws, the Centre informed the Delhi High Court on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters at the Gujarat BJP headquarters, the Union textiles and women and child development minister hit out at Gandhi over his comment that the Congress, if voted to power, would scrap the contentious legislations.
Bir Singh Yadav, from Bahlolpur village in Noida, enacted the "symbolic suicide" at the Dalit Prerna Sthal where he has been camping along with scores of protestors belonging to the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lok Shakti).
The Union minister expressed hope that the government will be able to find the solution to the issues raised by the protesting farmers.
Farmers will observe June 5 as 'Sampoorna Kranti Divas' by burning copies of the central farm laws in front of the offices of BJP MPs and MLAs to mark the day when these legislations were initially promulgated as ordinances last year, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha said.
Derek O'Brien of Trinamool Congress came near the podium and tried to show the rule book to the Deputy Chairman. An attempt was also made to snatch the microphone and the marshals tried to prevent it.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, and Railways and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday held a meeting at the Vigyan Bhawan with a delegation of farmers, including the leaders of several farm organisations holding protests in the national capital against the recent farm laws.
'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'
However, the farmers are still protesting, demanding a law on MSP. Besides MSP, the farmers are also demanding a resolution for the livelihood of the families of the 700 farmers who died while protesting against the three farm laws.
The farmers stuck to their demand of taking out the rally on Delhi's busy Outer Ring Road.
The remarks of the apex court, which also said there is a 'peculiar lack of comprehension' about constitution of a panel, assumes importance as some of the members of the recently constituted committee to resolve the deadlock between farmers and the centre over the farm laws had earlier reportedly expressed their views on the subject.
'Mann's decision is a welcome move. The other three members of the panel, who have shown pro-new farm laws stance should also follow Mann's suit'
Mann said he would sacrifice any position offered to him so as not to compromise the interests of farmers.
Singh wrote in the suicide note that the government must repeal these farm laws as these are against the interests of farmers, according to a leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union.
Thousands of agriculturists, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, are protesting against the laws for the last over four weeks at various border points of Delhi and demanding that the legislations be repealed.
In a letter to 40 union leaders, Union Agriculture Ministry Joint Secretary Vivek Aggarwal said the Centre is making all efforts with "an open heart" to find an appropriate solution to resolve all the concerns raised by farmers.
The provisions exempt farmers from attachment of land up to 2.5 acres and provide for prevention of hoarding and black marketing of agricultural produce.
Referring to the incident, a fresh plea has been filed for urgent hearing of the PIL, pending since March this year, saying "The right to freedom of speech and expression cannot supersede the right to life and if this protest is allowed to go in like this, the nation at large will be at a loss."
'The government knows our demands and knows well about our peaceful demonstration. It can address our concern and we will be gone'
Reacting to a media report in this regard, the deputy chairman said that 'as per rules and practice, in order to have a division, two things are essential'. 'Firstly there should be a demand for division and equally important that there should be order in the House,' he said in a statement.
Earlier in the day, former India spinner Pragyan Ojha said the country knows how important farmers are and an outsider's opinion is not needed on an internal matter.