Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, which is spearheading the protests at Delhi border points, distributed handbills in Hindi to commuters on the Jaipur-Delhi Highway near Haryana-Rajasthan borders, where hundreds of farmers have been camping for almost past three weeks now, to convey their apology, and also reiterate their demand for legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price.
Olympic medallist boxer Vijender Singh, who joined the farmers' agitation at the Haryana-Delhi border on Sunday, said he will return his Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award if the Centre's new farm laws are not withdrawn.
Addressing a press conference at the Singhu border protest site, farmer leaders warned of multiple actions if their main demands are not met. They said that only five per cent of the issues raised by them have so far been discussed in meetings with the government.
Farmer leader Kanwalpreet Singh Pannu said that thousands of farmers will start their 'Delhi Chalo' march from Rajasthan's Shahjahanpur through the Jaipur-Delhi Highway at 11 am on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday squarely blamed those with political agenda for the deadlock in the Centre's talks with protesting farmers.
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.
The deceased were identified as Shamsher Singh (around 45 years of age), a resident of Lidhra village in Punjab's Sangrur district, Jashandeep Singh (18), a resident of Chauke village in Punjab's Bathinda district, and Jagbir Singh (60), a resident of Jind in Haryana, the police said.
Two persons, including a 21-year-old man who assaulted a policeman on duty at Red Fort with a spear on January 26, has been arrested in connection with the violence at the historic monument, police said on Wednesday.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala accused Modi of getting pictures clicked in corporate offices while farmers are protesting on Delhi roads.
Sanyukt Kisan Morcha said the move is aimed at further strengthening and expanding the farmers' agitation which began in November last year.
Wearing garlands, the farmer leaders, who had called for observing 'Sadbhavana Diwas' (Harmony Day) on Saturday after the immense outrage over violence by protesters during their Republic Day tractor rally, sat on the dais during the fast, as crowds of supporters swelled, especially in Gazipur where the Bharatiya Kisan Union is leading the protest.
Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary also said the government is always ready for talks but it is up to farmer unions to decide whether they want to go ahead with the scheduled ninth round of talks on January 15.
Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal has given special permission for demonstration by a maximum of 200 farmers at Jantar Mantar, a few metres from the Parliament Complex, till August 9.
A delegation of farmers will meet Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday, said the spokesperson of Bharatiya Kisan Union.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha has suspended its November 29 tractor march to Parliament and it will hold a meeting next month to decide its future course of action, farmer leaders said on Saturday.
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.
From carrying portraits of their sons and husbands who have committed suicide due to agrarian distress to picketing to doing sewa 24x7 at langars, women have shown a rare determination not to capitulate before the government.
The protests against farm laws saw a fair share of controversies as well with climate activist Greta Thunberg and pop sensation Rihanna making their way to India's prime time debates and terms such as 'toolkit' and 'andolanjeevi' entering the Indian political lexicon.
Thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at various border of Delhi for almost four weeks now as formal talks between the government and representatives of farmers' unions remained deadlocked with protesting peasants refusing to accept anything less than a repeal of the newly enacted laws.
The Congress leader also accused the Central government of lying on national television.
The Delhi Police on Tuesday resorted to lathicharge and tear gas at the Singhu border after protesting farmers breached barricades set up to thwart them from entering the national capital. The police had given farmers permission to enter the city after the official Republic Day parade at Rajpath.
The Delhi Police will investigate the role of a woman based in the United Kingdom after its probe revealed that she, along with lawyer Nikita Jacob and engineer Shantanu Muluk, allegedly drafted the content of a 'twitter storm' campaign in February in support of the ongoing farmer agitation, officials said on Wednesday.
Farmers said that they never blocked roads at the Delhi border points.
The tractor parades will start from the Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri border points of Delhi, but details will be finalised tonight, farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said after attending a meeting between the unions and the police.
The Centre on Friday said that no farmer died due to police action during the year-long protests by farmers.
The Centre has sought five names from the Samkyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) to be included in a committee for discussion on a host of issues, including MSP, and the umbrella body of farmer unions will decide those in its December 4 meeting, farmer leader Darshan Pal said on Tuesday.
Earlier, Rajnath and Shah were leading deliberations among Union ministers to resolve the issues raised by the agitating farmers.
In a statement, the SKM, an umbrella body of 40 farmers' unions, said the struggle will continue to get all demands of the protesting farmers fulfilled and all announced plans are underway.
Tikait said the government should "release our men and prepare an environment conducive for talks".
On Wednesday, the top court observed that the Centre's talks with the protesting farmers have 'not worked apparently' and were bound to fail, and said it will form a committee having representatives of both the sides, but the agitating leaders dismissed it as no solution.
The Union accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of "shirking political responsibility" of resolving the crisis.
The suspension of internet services at the three border points and their adjoining areas was imposed at 11 pm on January 29 and was initially effective till 11 pm on January 31.
Despite heavy security deployment, groups of farmers from Punjab managed to reach near two Delhi border points on Friday morning after breaking police barricades in Haryana.
The government and the farm unions had reached some common ground on Wednesday to resolve the protesting farmers' concerns over rise in power tariff and penalties for stubble burning, but the two sides remained deadlocked over the main contentious issues of the repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee for MSP.
The Delhi government has approved the withdrawal of 17 cases registered during the anti-farm law stir, including one involving last year's Republic Day violence, a senior official said on Tuesday.
'On January 22, when the last round of talks took place, the farmer leaders were told by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar that the government is also prepared.' 'And they did this.'
The actor had earlier taken to Twitter on Sunday to share his "platinum certificate" from the ministry for filing his tax returns for the year 2019-2020 to refute rumours.
Addressing a press conference at Singhu Border in New Delhi, farmer leader Balbeer Singh Rajewal said that farmers never demanded the Supreme Court form a committee to resolve the impasse, alleging the central government was behind this development.
Some sportspersons of Punjab and Haryana have been returning their awards (Padma, Dronacharya, and Arjuna award ) in order to show solidarity with the farmers.
'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.
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