Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party's working committee member Ram Iqbal Singh on Thursday said there would have been no agitation by farmers had the Centre consulted them before enacting the new agricultural laws.
During the last few meetings, farmer leaders have been arranging their own lunch, snacks and beverages while refusing to have the food organised by the government.
Retail inflation crossed the RBI's comfort level and rose to 5.21 per cent in December on increase in prices of food items.
The unions said the minimum support price (MSP) cannot be separated from the demand of repealing the contentious agriculture laws, asserting that the issue of a legal guarantee for the MSP is a key part of their agitation.
Retail inflation inches up to 3.77%; IIP growth dips to 3-month low
"Akali Dal is a part of the NDA but it is a separate political outfit. They have taken this decision because of some political reasons. We have an alliance (SAD-BJP) but both are different political outfits. They (SAD) have taken a political decision," said Sharma.
In the coming few weeks, agriculture markets in North and Central India will be full of wheat, mustard, and chana - the three main rabi crops grown in these parts. Not only will the price trajectory of these determine the course of food inflation in the months to come, but it could also have a wider impact on the rural economy in the main growing states for these crops. Wheat and chana are largely grown in Madhya Pradesh (MP).
In the global markets, pulses prices have slumped because of a bumper harvest.
To maintain law and order during the farmers' tractor parade, thousands of security personnel had been deployed at several border points.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Varun Gandhi on Sunday described farmers, who have been protesting against three farm laws, as 'our own flesh and blood' and suggested that the government should re-engage with them in reaching common ground.
'The BJP will not win a single seat in Punjab.'
The Centre on Friday said that no farmer died due to police action during the year-long protests by farmers.
But the measures, particularly in agriculture, may not be enough to revive the sector and double the farm income, says S Mahendra Dev.
None of them who took to the dais at the farmers' morcha spoke about the Forest Rights Act, lack of irrigation facilities, minimum support price, and under-employment among the tribals, issues dear to the agitationists, says Prasanna D Zore.
FCI's suspension of tur under MSP is likely to force farmers to undergo distress sales of the commodity.
A panel of Union ministers held a fourth round of talks with farmer leaders in Chandigarh on Sunday over their demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP, as thousands of protesting farmers camped at the Punjab-Haryana border.
The delegation, led by Bharatiya Kisan Union's (Mann) Haryana state leader Guni Prakash, submitted a 'letter of support' to Tomar on the farm laws passed by Parliament in September and demanded the government to continue with these legislations.
'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.
Amit Shah wants to increase the party's nationwide vote share by at least 10 per cent from the 37.7 per cent it secured five years ago and ensure above 50 per cent vote share in the states where it came close to that benchmark, but couldn't cross it.
Tamanna Hashmi, a social activist, filed the complaint in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Hari Prasad, alleging that the minister had said that the farmers' protests were attempts to grab media attention, and sought a direction for issuing summons to Singh.
The spokesperson added that the review showed that only the Facebook page was affected by the automated systems while the Instagram account remained unaffected.
'The government till now said that we did not want a meeting, now that we have specifically told them when, where and what of the meeting, there is no response from them'
Police on Friday used tear gas to disperse Haryana farmers heading towards Khanauri on Punjab's border with the state where farmers, mostly from Punjab, have been camping since last week after their 'Delhi Chalo' march was halted by security forces.
'Seven hundred farmers lost their lives.' 'The protesting farmers were demonised and called names like andolanjiwi, Khalistani, anti-national.'
The party also promised to end the mafia raj by creating corporations for the sale of liquor and sand mining.
In a three-page letter written to 40 farmer leaders, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Vivek Aggarwal said, 'I again request you that the government has been discussing all issues with open heart and good intention to end the protest, and will continue to do so. Kindly suggest a date and time (for the next round of talks).'
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha called off the tractor parade by farmers on Tuesday and appealed to participants to immediately return to their respective protest sites.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday released its manifesto for the November 17 Madhya Pradesh elections promising MSP for wheat at Rs 2,700 per quintal and paddy at Rs 3,100 and houses for beneficiaries of the state's flagship scheme 'Ladli Bahna'.
The Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs staged a walkout ahead of the voice vote.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a pitch for electing a strong and stable government in an uncertain world beset by geopolitical tensions as the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday released its manifesto, prioritising development and welfare while shunning populist measures and contentious issues like the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The Congress on Monday attacked the government over the passage of the farm laws repeal bill in the Lok Sabha without a discussion, charging that all parliamentary norms have been 'thrown to the wind'.
The Delhi Assembly on Friday suspended Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Jitender Mahajan from its one-day special session and also marshalled out BJP legislators Anil Bajpai and Mohan Singh Bisht for allegedly disrupting the proceedings of the House.
'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'
Dairy companies in the organised sector are yet to state their stance on the proposed stir
Addressing the Delhi assembly, the chief minister also alleged the laws have been made for "electoral funding of the Bharatiya Janata Party and not the farmers".
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 chief minister said he discussed with Tomar about the ongoing farmer protests. "Effort is to find solutions through dialogue," he said.
As a precautionary measure and to avoid any turbulence in law and order situation, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has decided to keep three Metro stations -- Vishwavidyalaya, Civil Lines and Vidhan Sabha -- shut from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm on Saturday.
Singh, an executive committee member of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, also called Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut 'manchali (crazy)' for her remarks about the country's independence.
Despite the prime minister's surprise announcement, farmer leaders have maintained the protesters won't budge until the three contentious laws are formally repealed in Parliament.
