The number of protesters swelled at Delhi border points on Wednesday. Police stepped up security after thousands blocked key gateways into the national capital for the seventh day on the trot, leaving commuters facing a harrowing time.
"You have gone through extraordinary pain, and we don't want others to go through the kind of pain that you've gone through. Wouldn't be right," said the president.
Nobody bothered to articulate the upsides; instead, the four-year tour of duty and denial of life-long pensions got played up.
Job-seekers for government and related opportunities found that their future was at risk, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
Referring to Modi, Adityanath and Union Home Minister Amit Shah as 'outsiders', the farmer leader said he has no objection if they become prime ministers after winning polls from Uttarakhand or Gujarat.
Uttam Ghosh asks if the hasty manner in which the farm bills were passed means another strike against democracy in a nation which prides itself as the most populous democracy in the world.
Many non-NDA parties have extended support to the nationwide 10-hour strike on Monday called by farmers protesting against the three agri laws under the aegis of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM).
A large number of women from various states reached the sites of protest against the Centre's three farm laws that has been going on for over 50 days now.
In a democracy, all have the freedom of expressing their views, but none can be given the right to create disturbance and instability in the country, it said.
'Why do you want to use the might of swords to make your point?' 'Why do you use force to scare people who don't subscribe to your views?'
The farmers' acceptance of the proposal came hours after the Centre sent them a letter suggesting December 30 as the date for the dialogue, against December 29 the protesting unions wanted.
'How can we have lunch offered by the government when our fellow farmers are sitting on roads'
Rashtriya Loktantrik Party convenor and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal on Saturday announced a split from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance over the Centre's new farm laws.
The inventory has risen to 83 months in the National Capital Region and 50 months in Mumbai.
Addressing Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and workers on the birth anniversary of party's ideologue Deendayal Upadhyay, Modi asked them to reach out to farmers on the ground and inform them about details and benefits of the new agriculture reforms and how these will empower them.
Farmer leaders said unions do not allow any political party to use their stage and accused the government of diverting the issue.
Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi had convened an emergency meeting of newly reconstituted Council of Ministers in view of the 'Bharat Bandh' call given by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) to protest against the three agri laws, an official statement said after the cabinet meeting.
For large numbers of employees in the government system, the month-end salary cheque is no longer guaranteed. So the days of the government and State-owned enterprises wanting to be ideal employers are over, observes T N Ninan.
Navratilova, who is openly gay, said it was vital for sports stars to speak out.
They said that they will completely block the Chilla Border between Delhi and Noida on Wednesday to press for their demands, adding that farmer unions are not running away from negotiation, but the government has to pay heed to their demands and come forward with concrete proposals.
Tikait claimed a few inputs had been received regarding some "miscreants trying to disrupt peace" during the "chakka jam" that was announced for 12 noon to 3 pm on Saturday.
The Delhi police had on Saturday increased security arrangements by deploying additional personnel and placing more concrete barriers.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of the agitating unions, is meeting on Sunday to decide on the next course of action, including on the MSP issue and the proposed daily tractor march to Parliament during the upcoming Winter Session, SKM core committee member Darshan Pal said.
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and some other members sought that the bill be referred to a standing committee for scrutiny.
Going firm on their demand for repeal of the new agri laws, hundreds of farmers spent another night in the cold and withstood an early morning drizzle on Thursday on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border at their heavily-secured protest site at Ghazipur.
Farmer leaders on Sunday appealed to those participating in the Republic Day tractor march to carry enough ration for 24 hours and ensure that the rally remains peaceful.
Farmers started the tractor march around 11 am and moved towards Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway amid heavy deployment of Delhi Police and Haryana Police personnel.
Farmer leaders also announced their plans to block the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway for 24 hours on April 10.
Farmer unions opposing the Centre's new agri laws on Wednesday rejected a suggestion by police officers to hold their proposed January 26 tractor rally on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway instead of Delhi's busy Outer Ring Road, sources said.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde will hear the application on January 18 along with pleas raising the issue of farmers protesting at Delhi borders.
The minister said that the last meeting held on December 30, 2020, happened in a cordial atmosphere and there is a possibility of positive results in the interest of farmers and of the country's farm sector at the next meeting.
Armed with hope and a revolutionary poem by noted Punjabi poet 'Pash', a farmer cycled nearly 400 km from Fardikot to the Tikri border to join the massive protest by peasants against the new farm laws.
27-year-old Poojan Sahil who created the song can't be happier at its acceptance and success. The video of the song has almost 2.7 lakh views on YouTube in less than a week and is being widely shared across social media platforms.
Farmer leader Kulwant Singh Sandhu had said that 32 farmer unions from Punjab held a meeting on Tuesday and discussed the next course of action.
Modi hit out at deleterious influences from abroad, referring to them as 'foreign destructive ideology', as well as a new "breed" of agitators -- 'Andolan-jivi' -- in the country who cannot live without a tumult.
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.
In a statement in Hindi, she said governments and their leaders who ignore public sentiments in a democracy cannot govern for long and it is now quite clear that the protesting farmers will not bow in the face of the Centre's policy of 'tire and pushover'.
Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh on Saturday turned 39 but instead of celebrating his birthday this year, the 2011 World Cup hero hoped for a 'swift resolution' to the ongoing farmers' issues through dialogue.
According to them, these marches were a "rehearsal" for their proposed January 26 "Kisan Parade" to the national capital from different parts of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
There is an acute imbalance of power between the various organs of the State, including the executive, the legislature, the judiciary, and the ultimate sovereign -- the people, argues R Jagannathan.
Given Narendra Modi's trust in him, Praful Khoda Patel is unlikely to back down in Lakshadweep.
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