The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions, on Tuesday gave a call for a two-day strike from March 15 to protest against the proposed privatisation of two state-owned lenders. In the Union Budget presented last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the privatisation of two Public Sector Banks (PSBs) as part of its disinvestment plan. The government has already privatised IDBI Bank by selling its majority stake in the lender to LIC in 2019 and merged 14 public sector banks in the last four years.
Doctor G is outwardly all for women, but evidently has no interest in them, observes Sreehari Nair.
The farmers' tractor rally - Kisaan Parade - against the farm laws was expected to be held after 12 pm. However, huge crowds gathered on the borders at around 8 am.
The Modi government's defeat on farm laws underlines the perils of governing an entire continent-sized, diverse and federal nation like the chief minister of a state, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Where do the four members of the Supreme Court appointed panel to interface with farmers stand on the Modi government's farm laws?
Tikait has been at loggerheads with various governments on a range of farmers' issues, including loan waivers, minimum support price, power tariff and land acquisition in states such as UP, Haryana Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh.
The President's assent to these bills comes amid the Opposition criticising the manner in which they were passed in Parliament.
He also said that train services will resume after the state government and protesting farmer unions assure the safety of the tracks. Tomar and Union Food, Commerce and Railways Minister Piyush Goyal held a day-long meeting with representatives of various farmer unions at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
The decision was taken at a meeting of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farmer unions protesting at various Delhi border points against three farm laws.
Climate activist Disha Ravi along with Mumbai lawyer Nikita Jacob and Pune-based engineer Shantanu created the 'toolkit' related to the farmers' agitation and shared it with others to tarnish India's image, the Delhi Police said on Monday.
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.
The Agriculture Ministry has incurred an expenditure of Rs 67,99,750 on production of three promotional and two educational films on the farm laws for its wider publicity through electronic media, social media and webinars.
The Centre may pass any law undermining the Constitution and on the back of its majority, but once the common man and farmers rise, they will not keep quiet until the new farm acts and the ruling party are destroyed, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar said on Monday.
This crisis requires political sophistication and governance skills. This BJP has neither, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Giving priority to one's ideology over national interest has harmed the democratic system of the country a lot, Modi said in his address to students after unveiling the statue through video conferencing.
A day ahead of former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's visit to Rajasthan to raise the voice of the farmers against the farm laws, he said that the Centre should withdraw the laws and after thorough consultation with farmers and states, come up with a new set of legislations which the tillers would themselves want and is not something that is forced upon them.
The Bhartiya Kisan Union Lokshakti said the principle of natural justice is going to be violated as those appointed to the four-member committee 'have already supported these laws'.
Come ill-health, physical discomfort or family occasions, the men keep up the cheer and ensure their physical limitations don't cloud their optimism and their will to win the fight.
Tomar said the government is committed to "peaceful talks with farmers' leaders and does not intend to hurt farmers' sentiments".
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.
Attacking critics, he said a "clique" of people exploited farmers for long as they remained in shackles of rules regulating the sale of their produce and stated that this needed to change, which his government has done.
Unlike other top police officers, A A Khan spoke boldly --- be it while defending 'encounters' in many of which he was involved, or in tracing the cause of the ghastly Radhabai Chawl incident, recalls Jyoti Punwani. Encounters were useful, he said, because hardened criminals who were targeted were beyond reform and no good for society.
Already tractor rallies have been held in places like Nawanshahr and Gurdaspur as a build-up to the proposed January 26 event, farmer leaders said. More are planned over the next two days.
Farmer leader Darshan Pal accused the Centre of dividing farmer organisations, but it will not happen.
This comes after the government and opposition parties said a consensus has been reached to extend the duration of the allotted time on the discussion on a Motion Thanking the President for his Address to the Joint Sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajaya Sabha at the beginning of the Budget Session, from the currently allocated 10 hours to 15 hours.
The decision of its two oldest allies to walk out means that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who is also president of the Janata Dal-United, is now the oldest BJP ally besides being the most powerful.
Naomi Osaka has faced a backlash on social media after throwing her support behind the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody on May 25.
The fifth round of talks was held on December 5, while the sixth round originally scheduled for December 9 was called off after an informal meeting of Home Minister Shah with some union leaders failed to reach any breakthrough.
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.
In politics, if your objective is only winning elections, just Chanakya neeti might do. For governance you need both, Chanakya neeti and Ram Rajya. You can neither beat up the farmers into submission, nor dismiss them as 'Khalistanis', asserts Shekhar Gupta.
With almost all opposition parties and several trade unions backing the 'Bharat Bandh' and many announcing parallel protests in support of the farmers, the Centre has issued an advisory directing all the states and Union Territories to tighten security and ensure COVID guidelines are followed.
Not all change is good, but this one is, applauds Shekhar Gupta.
The prime minister also said the government has offered to discuss clause by clause of the three farm laws and if there are any shortcomings it was ready to make changes.
Sticking to their key demand of the repeal of three farm laws to end their protest, farmer leaders on Friday told the government their 'ghar wapsi' can happen only after 'law wapsi' but the Centre insisted talks must be limited to contentious clauses and ruled out a complete withdrawal of Acts.
Coal workers across the country have resumed work after a two-day strike and promised to make up for an estimated 1 million tonne production loss, as the government assured that state-run behemoth Coal India will not be privatised and employees' interests would be paramount.
A delegation of opposition parties including Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar and Left leaders on Wednesday met President Ram Nath Kovind seeking repeal of the three farm laws against which thousands of farmers have been protesting on various borders of the national capital.
'I was living in a fools' paradise, thinking I could win over anyone with my good intentions.'
Thousands of farmers from across Maharashtra reached Mumbai on Sunday evening to participate in a rally at the state capital on Monday against the Centre's three new farm laws.
The five-nation grouping BRICS on Tuesday resolved to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, and vowed to step up joint efforts in building support for an India-backed global framework to effectively deal with the menace.
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