The farmers were demanding higher compensation, equivalent to the one given to peasants in Noida, against acquisition of their land for the development of the township.
"This is not a farmers' agitation, this is Congress' agitation," he said.
Livelihoods and lives are being destroyed in the name of building a 'better' India, writes Congress leader Sachin Pilot, in an exclusive column for Rediff.com.
Even as the Uttar Pradesh government has flatly denied suicides by farmers in any part of the state, state chief secretary Alok Ranjan on Tuesday admitted that the untimely rain, thunder and hailstorm in large parts of the state had caused tremendous loss to the standing wheat crop to the tune of over Rs 1,100 crores.
Haryana Agriculture Minister O P Dhankar has triggered a row by terming farmers who commit suicide as criminals and cowards.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused the Modi government of "abandoning" farmers at a time when the country is faced with an agrarian crisis.
Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu on Friday launched an indefinite hunger strike demanding that the state and the central government immediately provide succour to hapless farmers and artisans who have faced the brunt of nature's fury in the last one year. The former Andhra Pradesh chief minister expressed serious displeasure over the relief measures announced by Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and demanded higher compensation.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also said 800 cheques would be distributed among the farmers who had not taken them earlier
Experts said many of the programmes started in the last one year have been dogged by poor implementation, something which the state seriously needs to answer as it faces a tough electoral battle in the months ahead.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Sunday night formally announced suspension of the 15-day indefinite dharna, saying a final agreement has been arrived at by the West Bengal government on the Singur issue."Since the government has found a formula for the solution of the Singur issue officially, I am suspending the dharna," she said from the dharna manch, addressing a big gathering of cheering party supporters.She thanked Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi.
2019 was the Bharatiya Janata Party's breakout year, when it stretched the boundaries of what was thought possible and ended up with 303 seats on its own steam. Now it is forced to play defence, on a pitch queered by too many variables, asserts Prem Panicker.
Gandhi also highlighted the issues facing farmers and said the Congress stands with farmers' demand.
Contrary to popular belief that he would infuse new life into the agitation of farmers, demanding higher compensation in lieu of their land acquired for building the Noida-Agra Yamuna Expressway, the arrival of Bharatiya Kisan Union supremo Mahendra Singh Tikait in Aligarh has failed to make any impact on the gradually waning demonstration.
The farmers of Aligarh, Mathura and Agra have formed a joint action committee to continue their agitation to seek an enhancement in the compensation given to them for the land acquired by the Mayawati government to build the 165-km long Noida - Agra Yamuna Expressway.They also reportedly decided to hand over the leadership of the agitation to powerful Bhartiya Kisan Union chief Mahendra Singh Tikait. The committee has already extended an invitation to Tikait.
The idea of three capitals has not been abandoned, even as the state lurches from financial crisis to crisis.
The government will also give Rs 10 lakh to those injured in the violence, said Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Awanish Awasthi.
Land acquisition for special economic zones has been a major bone of contention across the nation.
The government may be staring at a modest slippage in fiscal deficit for 2022-23 (FY23), with the Ministry of Finance seeking parliamentary approval for additional spending through a second and final tranche of supplementary demands for grants. On Monday, as the Budget session of Parliament resumed, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sought Parliament approval for additional gross spending of Rs 2.7 trillion in FY23 (which ends on March 31). While net cash outgo is pegged at Rs 1.48 trillion, the rest will be matched by savings or enhanced receipts, the finance ministry said.
'You are one of the drops that make that ocean, but when you leave it makes no difference to the ocean.'
In view of the volatile situation, the Centre rushed 1,100 personnel of anti-riot Rapid Action Force.
Restoration of the pre-2004 pension scheme, regularisation of contract employees after two years, enhanced daily wages, social security pension and appointment of anti-corruption grievances commissioner were the other promises made in the manifesto.
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State Home Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu said that in 2013-14, the state had received Rs 50 crore for police modernisation from the Centre. The allocation has come down to Rs 20 crore right now.
The issue of lynchings resonated in the Rajya Sabha; while in the Lok Sabha, the Opposition accused the government of not being sensitive towards farmers' issues.
Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took his fight against the contentious land acquisition bill to Punjab as he travelled by train today to visit the National Democratic Alliance-ruled state and see the condition of farmers with his own eyes.
The compensation package for land acquisition decided by the West Bengal government is very generous, so why are the farmers protesting?
The AAP leader also showed them a video clip in support of the party's claim that AAP leaders were not responsible for the incident.
"Both the Central government and the government of Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi are responsible for it, " it said.
Gandhi has submitted the bill in Parliament but it is yet to be introduced.
Peasants from Maharashtra's drought-affected Beed district feel the government machinery and politicians are indifferent to their plight.
Mandsaur, the epicentre of the agitation, has remained relatively peaceful even as farmer protests have spilled over to new areas of MP.
Singh, an executive committee member of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, also called Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut 'manchali (crazy)' for her remarks about the country's independence.
In a ruling which can have far-reaching consequences, the Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside the controversial acquisition of 997.11 acres of land in Singur in 2006 by the then Left Front government in West Bengal to set up Tata Motors' ambitious Nano car manufacturing plant.
According to a complaint lodged by the woman's husband, Shakoor Khan broke into their home on Thursday and raped his wife when she was alone.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday trained guns on the Narendra Modi government, charging that the country's farmers were being led to a suicide by an administration that is only interested in stealing their land.
The court also directed that the NDRF should be trained and equipped to tackle the drought-like situation.
"Dear Naddaji, Stop losing cool and all sense of propriety. Please remember -- 10,000 security personnel were deployed for PM's rally. All arrangements were made in tandem with SPG and other agencies," Randeep Surjewala said on Twitter.
'A drought is like a fire. It licks everything in its wake - crop, trees, animals, humans...' The plains of the Ganga in Bihar have a raw, unmatched, beauty, but also bear the anguish of its farmers.
'Rahul Gandhi accuses the Modi government of being in thrall to corporate fat cats at the expense of farmers and other common folk. But the facts do not bear out this argument, as Indian farmers are relatively better off compared to the really wretched of the earth, the unfortunate landless, often itinerant, labourer. And since Rahul's ancestors are the ones who failed them, it is a little disingenuous of him to ignore them in his rhetorical flourishes,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
The Supreme Court on Monday asked all the states to explain within six weeks as to why they should not be made liable to pay compensation to persons affected by bad air quality saying it is their bounden duty to provide basic civic amenities, clean air and drinking water to citizens.
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