The Centre has estimated that nearly 14,000 people have gathered along the Punjab-Haryana border with 1,200 tractor-trolleys, 300 cars, 10 mini-buses as well as small vehicles and conveyed its strong objections to the Punjab government for it, sources said on Tuesday.
Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal's health has become critical after 27 days of a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border protest site. Doctors attending to him have warned that he is at risk of cardiac arrest and multi-organ failure. Dallewal, 70, began his hunger strike on November 26 to pressure the Centre to accept the agitating farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP on crops. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have issued a statement saying that Dallewal's immunity has become very weak due to the continuous hunger strike, putting him at risk of infection. Former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi met Dallewal at the protest site on Saturday evening and conveyed the concerns expressed by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding his health and well-being. The statement also said that candle marches will be taken out across the country on December 24 in support of Dallewal's hunger strike. On December 26, when Dallewal's fast will complete one month, symbolic hunger strikes will be held at tehsil and district levels.
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 Supreme Court on Saturday gave the Punjab government time till December 31 to persuade farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been fasting for over a month, to shift to hospital.
'I didn't want my emotions and hard work to be made fun of on social media.'
The Bharti Kisan Union (Krantikari) has criticized the Punjab government for issuing arrest warrants against 25 farmers and adding an attempt to murder charge in the FIR related to the 2022 prime minister security breach incident. The union claims the farmers were protesting peacefully and had no knowledge of the prime minister's route. They argue the government is acting under pressure from the central government.
The police deployed tear gas and water cannons for a second day to stop the farmers from marching to Delhi.
Authorities in Punjab have raised an objection over the use of a drone by Haryana to air-drop tear gas shells on agitating farmers in their territory at the Shambhu border, a senior official said on Wednesday.
The Maha Kumbh witnessed its third grand 'Amrit Snan' on the auspicious occasion of Basant Panchami, drawing hundreds of thousands of devotees from across the globe, all seeking spiritual liberation through the sacred dip, which was going on smoothly, officials said.
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.
Haryana Police lobbed tear gas shells at farmers from Punjab at Shambhu border between the two states as thousands of protesters stayed put there on Wednesday, the second day of their 'Delhi Chalo' march.
The protesting farmers have been staying put at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana after their "Delhi Chalo" march was stopped by the security forces.
In Punjab, farmers sat on railway tracks at many locations in 22 districts, including Amritsar, Ludhiana, Tarn Taran, Hoshiarpur, Firozpur, Fazilka, Sangrur, Mansa, Moga and Bathinda. Because of the disruption of train services, passengers experienced inconvenience.
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.
'Fifteen days ago, we were only talking of Ayodhya. Now we are talking about farmers.'
The government said in an order that mobile internet services would be banned in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa districts.
Neighbours of Lalit were surprised to see his images on news channels, recalling him as a reserved individual who seldom engaged with the community at Burrabazar in Kolkata.
Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a 70-year-old Punjab farmer leader, is on his 21st day of a hunger strike demanding the Indian government address farmers' concerns, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops. His health has deteriorated, and doctors have recommended immediate hospitalization. However, Dallewal, a cancer patient, has refused medical treatment.
Indian Olympian Vinesh Phogat swaps wrestling arena for politics. Phogat retired from wrestling after she was disqualified ahead of the women's 50 kg freestyle final for failing to make weight.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also joined the meeting at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26 in Chandigarh.
Loud music, bombastic action scenes, over-the-top dialogues that don't have any ring of truth to it followed by scenes of blood-oozing bodies floating in a river definitely don't make for a magnum opus!' exclaims Prasanna D Zore after watching the Chhaava trailer.
Three Union ministers and farmer leaders will meet in Chandigarh at 6 pm to discuss their demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP for crops and farm debt waiver.
Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a farmer leader, is on an indefinite hunger strike that has entered its 34th day. The Supreme Court has criticized the Punjab government for not shifting Dallewal to a hospital, while farmer leaders have said they are following Gandhian principles and it is up to the government to decide whether to use force to evict him. The farmers are protesting for several demands, including a legal guarantee for a minimum support price (MSP) for crops. The protests have reached a decisive stage, with the SKM (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha calling for a Punjab bandh on Monday.
Seers from various 'akharas' took the first 'Amrit Snan' at the Maha Kumbh on Makar Sankranti on Tuesday as an unbroken stream of people converged at the Triveni Sangam on the occasion with around 3.5 crore devotees taking a dip.
The Haryana police in Ambala district Thursday said they will be seeking cancellation of passports and visas of those found indulging in acts of vandalism during the ongoing farmers' agitation.
Referring to an action against farmers by the security personnel deployed by the Haryana authorities at the Punjab-Haryana border, Pandher slammed paramilitary personnel for using "force" against farmers, leaving many injured.
Farmers from Punjab clashed with Haryana police at two border points between the states on Tuesday, facing tear gas and water cannons as they tried to break past barricades blocking their protest march to the national capital. The police lobbed tear gas shells -- some of them dropped from a drone -- and tried to disperse groups of stone-pelting protesters in the face-off that last several hours at Shambhu border near Ambala in Haryana.
'Senior Vatican officials were pleasantly surprised at the number of Indians who had come to witness the ceremony.'
Farmers from different parts of Uttar Pradesh demanding adequate compensation for their lands acquired by the government marched towards Delhi on Monday but were stopped at the Noida-Delhi border where they sat on a dharna.
'JD-U wants to emerge as the single largest party in Bihar after the next assembly polls by contesting more seats than the BJP.'
Farmers protesting to press the Centre for their various demands will stay put at the two protest sites on the Punjab-Haryana border till February 29 when the next course of action will be decided, their leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said on Friday.
A 21-year-old farmer was killed and a few others injured following a clash between security personnel and protesting farmers at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border.
Union ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai and farmer leaders from Punjab will meet on Sunday for the fourth round of talks.
The chief minister said the policeman took the complainant to the locality to identify the accused person.
A team of three Union ministers will hold talks on Monday with a delegation of farmer leaders, who are planning to march towards Delhi to press for their demands.
Chhota Bheem: The Curse of Damyaan is a fun movie, its adventurous story and lovable characters make it worth watching with family, notes Riddhi Soni.
Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Thursday demanded registration of a murder case against those responsible for the death of a protesting farmer at the Khanauri border point of Punjab-Haryana.
The Union ministers and farmer leaders had met earlier on February 8, 12 and 15 but the talks remained inconclusive.
Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Tuesday said the Centre should convene a daylong Parliament session to bring a legislation on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, a key demand of protesting farmers.
The Delhi Police has already stocked up a large number of tear gas shells and ordered 30,000 more from the BSF's Tear Smoke Unit (TSU) located at Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior, an official said.
