Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda on Tuesday said a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) on crops cannot be brought in a hurry without consulting all stakeholders and urged the protesting farmer groups to have a structured discussion with the government on the issue.
Vinesh Phogat alleged on Sunday that the government is trying to protect Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, which is spearheading the protests at Delhi border points, distributed handbills in Hindi to commuters on the Jaipur-Delhi Highway near Haryana-Rajasthan borders, where hundreds of farmers have been camping for almost past three weeks now, to convey their apology, and also reiterate their demand for legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price.
The move comes days after Congress chief Sonia Gandhi asked states under party's rule to enact legislations to bypass Centre's three farm-related laws that have triggered protests by farmers.
Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai represented the Centre at the meeting over the farmer unions' various demands, including a law guaranteeing a minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also joined the meeting at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26. The meeting started at around 8:45 pm on Thursday and lasted for around five hours.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmer organisations that spearheaded the 2021 protest, adopted the resolution to "intensify the fight against the policies of the Union government to save farming, food security, land and livelihoods of the people".
"The Union cabinet is likely to take up on Wednesday, November 24 the withdrawal of the three farm laws for approval. The bills for withdrawal of the laws shall then be introduced in the forthcoming Parliament session," sources in the government told ANI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday took the Congress to the cleaners over making the 2024 general elections about the protection of the Constitution, saying Indians voted on the plank only once when they threw out the Indira Gandhi government in 1977 after the Emergency.
In the all-party meeting on Tuesday, Opposition parties demanded discussions on price rise, unemployment and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota among other issues, sources said.
At an average national price of Rs 90 a kg in the retail market, it shows a jump by 20% in the last two months.
"Democracy has been shamed by the manner in which the government passed death warrants against farmers in the form of two farm bills in Rajya Sabha," he tweeted.
'It is the first-time voters and the agnostics who are often influenced by political advertising.' 'These swing voters tend to make a huge difference in the outcome of any election.'
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi launched a no-holds-barred attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha on Monday, saying the leaders of the ruling party are not Hindus as they engage in "violence and hate" round the clock, drawing massive protests from the treasury benches, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing the Congress leader of calling the entire Hindu community violent.
Investors need to carefully assess country-specific risks. 'This is especially true of a market that is less transparent than the US.'
The farm bills passed by Parliament mark the watershed in the liberation of India's farming community from the shackles of exploitative practices that slow-pedaled their progress, the former civil servants said.
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.
The Haryana Police on Wednesday fired tear gas shells to disperse farmers from Punjab at Shambhu and Khanauri border points as they tried to move towards barricades stalling their protest march to Delhi.
A 15-member SKM delegation met with Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar at Krishi Bhawan in the afternoon and submitted a demand charter, farmer leader Darshan Pal said.
These "kisan mahapanchayat" are scheduled to be held in Haryana's Karnal, Rohtak, Sirsa and Hisar districts, and Maharashtra's Akola and Rajasthan's Sikar, he said.
The Congress expressed its 'whole-hearted' support to the 'Bharat bandh' called by farmer unions against the new agri-marketing laws and announced that it will hold protests that day at all district and state headquarters in solidarity with the demands of the farmers. TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the party rank and file would actively participate in the bandh to ensure it was a success.
The letter by Singh, who is camping at the Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida along with his faction members since December 2, came as protestors marked the birth anniversary of former prime minister and farmers' leader Chaudhary Charan Singh.
Some leaders also threatened that they will boycott the scheduled sixth round of talks with the government on Wednesday at Vigyan Bhawan, while others said their next course of action will depend on what amendments the government assures in writing, which they claimed was promised by Shah in Tuesday's meeting.
The decision will help farmers earn an additional income of Rs 62,635 crore
On Thursday, the prime minister appreciated Tomar for 'attempting to have a polite dialogue' with the farmers through an open letter, requesting them to read it.
Responding to the NCP leader's remarks, Tomar said Pawar, who is a veteran leader, is also considered well-versed with the issues and solutions relating to agriculture. "Pawar himself tried hard to bring the same agriculture reforms earlier."
'The lack of a majority isn't the issue. He has enough in 240, especially as none of his allies can pull down his coalition.' 'That's why he's started as if this were just another, normal term. That pretence is vital for him.' 'The change for Modi 3.0 comes not from numbers, but from the new environment of contestation,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
'It is difficult to write business internationally, without an 'A-' rating. It becomes more expensive.'
While the farmers are not getting remunerative prices for their produce, at the same time they are forced to pay high prices for items they consume.
The standing committee on agriculture has criticised the government's criteria of fixing the Minimum Support Price for the farmers
He requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make an announcement that the farm loans would be waived, while a mechanism for the same could be worked out later.
He further stated that other details regarding the same will be disclosed after a meeting scheduled to take place on November 26, which marks the first anniversary of the farmers' protest against the three farm laws, the repeal of which was recently announced by the Centre earlier this month.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of rising food prices in the Lok Sabha.
Ahead of the US presidential elections this November, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are set to face off in their first debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday night ET.
Days after their passage in the Lok Sabha, Tomar introduced the Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 in the Rajya Sabha.
Events, including press conferences and public programmes, will be held in most of the over 700 districts of the country in this regard.
Sluggish rural demand along with higher inflation is set to mute revenue growth of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector at 7-9 per cent this fiscal and the next compared to 8.5 per cent in the previous fiscal, a report said. Almost 40 per cent of the Rs 4.7-lakh-crore sector come from the hinterland markets, which have been hit by high inflation, low wages and high job losses since the Covid pandemic. Revenue growth of the FMCG sector will be muted at 7-9 per cent this fiscal and the next compared to 8.5 per cent in the last, while volume growth will be just about 1-2 per cent, down from 2.5 per cent last fiscal, Crisil said in a report on Monday.
The Delhi Police later said they detained AAP MP Bhagwant Mann and over a hundred protesting workers after 'they started getting agitated'. Addressing his party workers from Punjab at the protest, Kejriwal said the AAP has a very clear stance on the farm laws.
After facing sharp rise in prices of most food items in 2008, consumers can look forward to a relatively comfortable situation this year in commodities like wheat, rice and edible oil. However, sugar prices, which have remained depressed for the last two years, are likely to move up.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union and the Mahila Aghadi have also opposed.
Chaudhary Charan Singh, who on Friday was conferred with India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna, is popularly known as a champion of farmers.
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