Farmers protesting at various sites on the border of Delhi on Monday unequivocally said they are only concerned about their common goal of having the three farm laws repealed, and what has been offered to the agriculture sector in the Union budget did not matter.
The Delhi Traffic Police took to Twitter to inform commuters about alternative routes open for travelling to the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Farmers gathered at several national highways, key roads and some railway tracks in Punjab and Haryana on Friday morning as part of their nationwide protest against the Centre's new agri laws.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha on Thursday said it will not be intimidated by the notices sent to its leaders by Delhi Police and alleged that the government is trying to put an end to the farmers' movement against agri laws by blaming it for the violence during the January 26 tractor rally.
Some taxi and cab unions, including those associated with app-based aggregators, have decided to join the strike called by farmers organisations demanding repeal of three new farm sector laws.
A day after farmers' tractor rally turned violent in Delhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday took stock of the security situation and measures taken to ensure peace in the city, officials said.
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.
Addressing a press conference at Singhu border, a representative of protesting farmers said that they will continue their agitation until their demands are met.
Sidhu was arrested on February 9 in connection with the Red Fort violence on January 26 during a farmers' tractor parade against the Centre's three new agriculture laws.
The SP's bid to dent the BJP's formidable social equation is playing out in a big way in the Poorvanchal or eastern region of Uttar Pradesh as the ruling party is working overtime to keep its caste equation unharmed.
'By calling names and using unparliamentary language, they are trying to divert people's attention from the issues of electricity, water, and income.'
Heavy fog engulfed parts of Delhi with the minimum temperature settling at a notch below normal.
Modi also hailed the world's largest vaccination programme being carried out in India against COVID-19
Thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at various border of Delhi for almost four weeks now as formal talks between the government and representatives of farmers' unions remained deadlocked with protesting peasants refusing to accept anything less than a repeal of the newly enacted laws.
The Delhi government will identify single-use plastic littering hotspots and the entry points of such items into water bodies and drains by October 31 this year, according to a draft action plan for the elimination of the environmentally hazardous products.
The curtain came down on rumbustious electioneering over the last two months when assembly polls were also held in four other states - Goa, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur.
Schumer and Menendez said the months-long demonstrations have been met with orders from the central government and local authorities to shut off internet access in protest areas, cut off water and electricity supplies for the tens of thousands living in protest camps, and impede the work of journalists reporting on the protests.
The 61-year-old, who was administered the oath of office by Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal at a simple function in the Raj Bhavan, also said he wants to accelerate development in the union territory, carved out of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir last year.
Besides Uttar Pradesh, the other six states where bird flu is confirmed are Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat.
The protesting farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been at the border points of the national capital for almost 40 days now, braving the bone-chilling cold weather in the region.
Asked if the efforts of the government should have been more in providing relief right now than managing their own image and perception, the National Award-winning actor said it is important for the government to rise to the occasion and do things for the people who elected them.
Referring to the "mountains of garbage" at the three landfill sites -- Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalswa-- the court said no action has been taken by authorities, including the office of the LG due to which Delhi was facing the serious problem.
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.
Mayawati added that the BSP's relationship with the SP is never going to end and she will try to ensure that their relationship stays intact.
Farmers said the agenda of the meeting should also include amendments to be made and notified in the Commission for the Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance, 2020 to exclude farmers from its penal provisions.
It is "absolutely clear" that the new laws will finish government mandis (wholesale markets) and private mandis where big corporates will sell and buy will have monopoly, he claimed.
"We do not aim change in power (at the Centre). The government should do its work. We want it to repeal the farm laws and ensure law on MSP," he said.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked the Bharatiya Janata Party why are they preventing peasants from coming to Delhi to raise their demands.
Keshav Prasad Maurya's election from Sirathu in Kaushambi will be among the keenly watched contests in UP. If he and the BJP win, will he be luckier this time?
'The government knows our demands and knows well about our peaceful demonstration. It can address our concern and we will be gone'
In a show of strength, hundreds of women are expected to drive tractors at 'Kisan Gantantra Parade' on Republic Day, as a large number of farmers opposing the new agriculture laws will enter the national capital under a high security cover.
The Delhi police's Special Cell has lodged an FIR under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and sections of the IPC dealing with sedition to investigate the violence at Red Fort in Delhi on January 26.
These 22 farm bodies were among 32 farmer organisations in Punjab which participated in the over-a-year-long protest against the three central farm laws.
"A full repeal of three central farm laws and enacting legislation for remunerative minimum support price for all farmers were reiterated as the pending demands of the movement," said the release signed by Krantikari Kisan Union leader Darshan Pal.
Angry protesters allegedly forced the two vehicles to stop and set them on fire.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala accused Modi of getting pictures clicked in corporate offices while farmers are protesting on Delhi roads.
'Had the Congress made Sidhu its CM face, they would have won 80 out of 117 seats.'
The Congress also stepped up the offensive against the government by launching an online campaign in support of the farmers' agitation, with party leader Rahul Gandhi accusing the government of betraying the farmers for benefitting their 'corporate friends'.
The 45-year-old actor, a vocal advocate for a clean environment, on Monday shared a post by Extinction Rebellion, a global climate movement, on the social media site.
A day before the crucial talks between the Centre and the protesting farmer unions, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday said the government is ready to consider any proposal other than repeal of three farm laws, the key demand of the farmers.
