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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday had a meeting with Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava, ahead of the 'chakka jam' announced by farmer unions protesting against the three agri laws at Delhi's borders, sources said.
Jannayak Janta Party leader Digvijay Singh Chautala on Friday called farmer leader Rakesh Tikait a 'true patriot' and said he has always talked about farmers' interests.
Thousands of farmers camping at the Tikri borders are largely seen without the basic preventive measure against COVID-19 -- protective masks.
Twitter has blocked accounts of Punjabi rapper JazzyB, Sydney-based hip-hop artist L-Fresh the Lion and two others following demands by the Indian government.
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.
'The demands are also the same -- all three 'black' farm laws should be repealed, a new law made to ensure MSP (minimum support price) for crops'
What some of us think are strong, bold and firm decisions are cruel, harsh and unwanted for others. This is what we need to consider when we look at what has happened with the farm laws, asserts Aakar Patel.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Bijendra Kumar Yadav said farmers have formally declared that they will start returning home from Saturday onwards, but it is not a time bound exercise as their movement will keep progressing through the day.
With Pawar backing farmers' protest against the contentious agri reforms, government sources on Sunday pointed out that as the agriculture minister in the UPA dispensation he had asked chief ministers to amend the APMC Act in their states to allow the private sector to play an important role in the field.
With multiple health camps at these protest sites, immediate medical assistance is always at the farmers' disposal in case a protestor develops symptoms like fever or breathlessness.
>The protesters should entrust the final judgement on the farm reform laws to the Supreme Court-mandated committee of experts and return to their villages, argues Virendra Kapoor.
The minister, in an eight-page open letter to farmers, said the Modi-government was committed to their welfare and stressed that the new legislations were aimed at benefitting small and marginal farmers.
According to the ministry's statement, Tomar thanked the BKU (Kisan) leaders for coming out in support of the Farm Acts and said these laws have been welcomed in various states across the country.
Farmers from various parts of the country are protesting at Delhi borders against the three farm laws brought by the Centre, alleging that the legislations will hamper farming.
Tiwari, in a statement, said alleged slogans in favour of Khalistan and threat to the prime minister by some protesters among the farmers showed that it was a "well planned conspiracy" to create "unrest" in the country.
The government should consider the farmers' demands sympathetically, Raut told reporters in Mumbai.
'...It won't help the party run a peaceful and equitable India,' warns Vir Sanghvi.
Ahead of their proposed tractor parade on Republic Day, protesting farmer Unions Monday announced they will march towards Parliament from different locations on February 1 when the annual Union Budget is scheduled to be presented.
The standard line that is used for anyone -- academics, minorities, farmers, dissident industrialists -- who points out that what the government is doing is wrong is being anti-national and separatists, reveals Aakar Patel.
Farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal appealed to people to raise black flags at their houses, vehicles and shops on May 26 to protest against the contentious farm legislations.
These farmers, belonging to various districts of western Uttar Pradesh, have come for the demonstration on the call of farmers' union Kisan Sena and want to go to Delhi to meet Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, according to the outfit's conevnor Thakur Gauri Shankar Singh.
With almost all opposition parties too backing the 'Bharat bandh' and many announcing parallel protests in support of the farmers, the Centre has issued an advisory directing the states and Union Territories to tighten security and ensure peace is maintained.
A key committee member and president of Maharashtra-based Shetkari Sanghatana, Anil Ghanwat said the farm sector reforms are much needed and no political party in the next 50 years will ever attempt them again if these laws are repealed.
The meeting came after a large number of farmers with their tractors broke police barricades and entered central Delhi areas, including Red Fort and ITO.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said there is no alternative to the Trinamool Congress, and no other party can take its place in the state.
Recognising that peaceful protests are a hallmark of a thriving democracy, the United States has said that it encourages dialogue between the protesting farmers and the Indian government to resolve their differences.
Protesting farmer leaders in the vulnerable age group Monday said they are not afraid of coronavirus and won't take vaccine jabs, even as the second phase of vaccination drive got underway to inoculate senior citizens and those above 45 with underlying medical conditions.
Farmer unions on Monday had announced a countrywide 'chakka jam' on February 6 when they would block national and state highways for three hours in protest against the internet ban in areas near their agitation sites, harassment allegedly meted out to them by authorities, and other issues.
Internet services remained disrupted for the fifth day at the site on Delhi's outskirts where protesters are occupying a stretch of the Delhi-Meerut highway since November, even as a Ghaziabad Police officer told PTI that online connectivity has been restored but there could be glitches.
Behind the movement are shock-workers functioning quietly to ensure that a seemingly spontaneous, apolitical, grassroots mobilisation sustains itself without dribbling into chaos or violence. Sai Manish lists some of them.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha called off the tractor parade by farmers on Tuesday and appealed to participants to immediately return to their respective protest sites.
A government order sent to telecom service providers directed temporary suspension of internet services in areas of Singhu, Ghazipur, Tikri, Mukarba Chowk and Nangloi and their adjoining areas in the NCT of Delhi from 12.00 hours to 23.59 hours on the Republic Day, according to the department of telecom.
After some tough talk that the Centre has been given a 'long rope' and 'failed' to break the deadlock and not been 'effective' in handling the stir, the court said it will pronounce orders on Tuesday on various issues related to the farm laws and the farmers' ongoing stir at Delhi borders.
The Maharashtra government will amend its agriculture law to protect farmers and Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) as the three central farm laws are not in the interest of agriculturists, state Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said.
In the wake of farmers' tractor rally turning violent, the Centre on Tuesday decided to deploy additional paramilitary troops in Delhi to restore peace and maintain law and order, officials said.
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.
Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party's working committee member Ram Iqbal Singh on Thursday said there would have been no agitation by farmers had the Centre consulted them before enacting the new agricultural laws.
Labour rights activist Naudeep Kaur was freed Friday by the Punjab and Haryana high court, which said slapping charges like attempt to murder on her is a 'debatable issue' to be considered at a later stage in the trial.
A number of prominent personalities, including cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, recently rallied around the central government on social media using hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda.
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