'Have you seen a situation like this anywhere before, globally or in India, where a government says, okay, we are withdrawing a law because you don't want it?'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday slammed those calling agitating Sikh farmers names, saying it won't do the country any good as he went on to appeal to the protesting farmers to withdraw their over two-month-long stir and give the new agriculture reform laws a chance.
Western UP contributes nearly 70 seats to the 402-member UP assembly. In 2017, the BJP had swept the region. Every pre-2022 poll survey had suggested the party would face its biggest attrition from this region because of the farmers' groups.
Making his first appearance at an election rally, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday sought votes for his son Akhilesh Yadav, promising that his party will fulfil the aspirations of the people.
Opposition parties have alleged that the two agriculture Bills will undermine the safety net provided to the farmers by the MSP system and will lead to their exploitation by big companies.
Modi offered prayers during his visit to the gurudwara for which no police bandobast or traffic barriers were put in place to restrict movement of the common man, official sources said.
Political parties, agriculture experts and progressive farmers demanded such agri reforms for long, he said and attacked the opposition for misleading cultivators on the issue of MSP (minimum support price) and APMCs.
The development came a day after the protesting farmers rejected the Centre's offer to start talks as soon as they move to Burari and continued to stay put Singhu and Tikri borders of the national capital.
The challenges before the coming Budget are more daunting than those in 2021, reveals A K Bhattacharya.
The sixth round of talks between the government and farm union leaders, which was scheduled for Wednesday morning, has been cancelled. According to the union leaders, a new 'Delhi chalo' (march to Delhi)' call is being given to all farmers in the north India for December 14, while those in the South will be asked to protest at district headquarters.
Three union ministers -- Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce and Industries Som Prakash -- will hold discussions again with 40 farmer unions' leaders, including the Bharatiya Kisan Union which is spearheading the protests.
It is not the job of regulators to ensure that users make profits. It is not the job of regulators to prevent people from making losses. It is not the job of regulators to prevent people from doing stupid things, argues Ajay Shah.
Though there was no clear roadmap, the farmers, belonging to multiple groups, including 30 from Punjab, appeared clear in their resolve, some saying that they would not disperse till the laws were repealed and others that would ensure their voices are heard.
Dividing people in the name of religion, engineering riots and committing atrocities on Dalits is not Hindutva but to unite one human being with another is, he said in a veiled attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party while replying to a question at a summit organised by news channel Times Now.
The prime minister needs 172 votes in the lower house of 342 to foil the Opposition's bid to topple him.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will deliver 1,000 units of its all-new Thar SUV during Diwali festive period, the company said on Friday. The latest version of the iconic SUV was launched on October 2, in two trims -- AX and LX -- with both petrol and diesel powertrain option, and is priced between Rs 9.8 lakh and Rs 13.75 lakh
Several trains were cancelled, highways and key roads blocked and many thousands stranded for hours on Monday as a nationwide 10-hour shutdown against the Centre's three agri laws disrupted lives across parts of India, particularly in the north.
Farmers say they are paid lesser by Rs 110 per sq meter for road project. A day before the announcement of Nano project at Northcote farm in Chharodi village in Gujarat, the Ahmedabad district collector along with revenue department officials had assured the farmers that they would be duly compensated for the amount of land they given for four lane road project.
Critics who cannot stop gloating, pronouncing Modi to be a lame-duck prime minister, may be making a huge mistake, predicts Virendra Kapoor.
The SKM also gave a call for observing a nationwide 'Day of Betrayal' on January 31 against what it called the government's reneging on its assurances to the farmers on their demands, including legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) of crops.
Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, the deputy chief minister said, "I believe that many amendments should be there. On this, we have given many suggestions to the Centre earlier and they too were agreeable on many suggestions."
Anil Rego, CEO, Right Horizons, answers your personal income tax queries.
Data compiled by National Collateral Management Services (NCML, a non-government body) shows a 6.3 per cent rise to 109 million tonnes (mt). The Union ministry of agriculture's first advance estimate was 100.5 mt, as compared to 102 mt in last year's fourth advance estimate.
The police have put up barricades, tippers and rolled out water cannons to prevent protesting farmers from entering Chandigarh.
They alleged that while the two main political parties in the state -- the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party -- have 'cheated' them, the other parties are 'ineffective'.
Remember, anyone can make two plus two four. But if you can make two plus two five, you will be adding value, management guru Virender Kapoor advises job-seekers.
Bhupesh Baghel said about his father that he respected his father as a son, but as a chief minister, none of his mistakes that will disturb public order can be ignored.
'A third wave is possible, but we must try to restrict it to a low level by adopting all personal protection and public policy measures to prevent viral transmission, while speeding up vaccination.'
Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Mahasangh national president Shiv Kumar Kakka said that every day from July 22, 200 farmers, wearing identification badges, will go to Jantar Mantar from the Singhu border to hold the protest.
"Those who are sitting on dharna are farmers and are born to farmers' families. We have a lot of respect for them," Singh said.
"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.
'This confrontation could have been avoided by a less arrogant administration that initially listened, used whatever negotiating skills they had and tried to be more credible,' observes Ramesh Menon.
Ricky Ponting said it's a 'small issue' as compared to the chaotic situation outside the IPL bubble due to the lethal second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.
"We've been told every time that... (the phone call) will happen, it's technical reasons or whatever. But frankly, people don't believe it," he said. "If a phone call is a concession, if a security relationship is a concession, Pakistan has options," he added, refusing to elaborate.
Another farmer leader and SKM member said the agitation is likely to be called off on Wednesday as there have been some positive responses from the government side on the farmers' demands.
The prime minister was happy that the assurance given by the Serum Institute that it will make India self-sufficient in vaccines at the lowest possible price in the world was fulfilled.
These are the highlights of the seventh bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2019-20 by the RBI amid COVID-19 pandemic:
Eleven rounds of talks have been held over the contentious farm laws but the impasse continues as the farmer unions remain firm on their demands -- the repeal of the three laws and legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price.
The government, however, made it clear entry into classrooms with hijab will not be allowed.
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