The court also directed that the NDRF should be trained and equipped to tackle the drought-like situation.
'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.
A delayed monsoon and abundant cotton in the international market could spell trouble in the state's suicide zone.
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.
"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.
Modi said that these problems are 'deep-rooted' and must be addressed collectively for which he is open to suggestions.
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.
Noting that farmers are suffering due to problems in the food supply chain, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday said there is a need for ensuring better compensation for the farmers against their produce.
Currently, the Department of Agriculture runs two crop insurance schemes, one of which is weather-based.
The well-irrigated states of Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, western Uttar Pradesh and coastal states such as Odisha are, for the first time, feeling the effects of a poor monsoon.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday seeking immediate resumption of talks with the government over their six demands, including a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) for all farmers.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was back in action on Saturday after he met farmers over land bill in Delhi, a day before the party's big kisan rally.
Ahead of the Winter Session in Parliament, leaders of 11 opposition parties met in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.
'Whatever I did, I did for the farmers and whatever I am doing, I am doing for the country'
Jawan springs a real surprise when it boldly and directly points fingers at the ineffective government and appeals to recognise the power of the finger and vote. Six months before the next general Indian election, this is no coincidence, observes Sukanya Verma.
Sharing his experience of the yatra so far, the Congress leader said he felt sad while talking to farmers, youth, and tribals.
The Congress on Sunday gave a call to party leaders in poll-bound states to work with unity to ensure victory that will 'set the tone' for 2024 Lok Sabha polls even as it showed willingness to forge an alliance of 'like-minded' parties.
The Congress on Monday attacked the government over the passage of the farm laws repeal bill in the Lok Sabha without a discussion, charging that all parliamentary norms have been 'thrown to the wind'.
The Delhi Assembly on Friday suspended Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Jitender Mahajan from its one-day special session and also marshalled out BJP legislators Anil Bajpai and Mohan Singh Bisht for allegedly disrupting the proceedings of the House.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday said the country's farm production and procurement increased during 2020-21 crop year despite the pandemic and agricultural exports reached a record level of Rs 3 lakh crore during the same period. In his address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget session, Kovind said the government is focusing on making the country self-sufficient in edible oils besides making special efforts to promote organic farming, natural farming and crop diversification. "My government is working continuously to empower the farmers and the rural economy of the country... I would like to give maximum credit to the small farmers of the country for this consistent success and strengthening of the agriculture sector," he said.
'If the minister does not resign, then it will be the darkest incident of Indian democracy where power prevailed over the people.'
Nineteen people have been killed in rain-related incidents in Uttar Pradesh in the past 24 hours, the state relief commissioner's office said Monday evening.
Away from the distraction of its new high-profile politics, Wayanad's worries seemed very down to earth, discovers Shyam G Menon.
'We don't trust the prime minister's words on repealing the laws because he had promised us that he will implement the Swaminathan Commission report, but he never did.'
The Supreme Court has taken cognisance of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which eight people were killed in violence during a farmers' protest, with a bench headed by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana scheduled to hear the matter on Thursday.
The surge in wheat export from India owing to the Ukraine crisis has once again demonstrated how farmers in states that have flexible marketing frameworks and low taxes benefit more from an emerging situation. The bulk of the wheat exported from India, trade and industry sources say, is being sourced at rates significantly higher than the state-mandated price of Rs 2,015 per quintal in Madhya Pradesh (MP), Uttar Pradesh (UP), and Gujarat - states which have low mandi taxes compared to Punjab and Haryana. This is not only benefiting farmers there but could also lead to significant savings for the states in procurement costs in the months to come.
The concept of social security is experiencing a renaissance in developing and emerging markets.
If you want to take revenge on me, you do it. I have no problem. But the poor of Amethi have done you no harm. They should be treated well," said Rahul.
The Congress is planning to call a meeting of Opposition parties in May. It is possible to keep all possibilities open in case Karnataka yields a hung House, leading to a recalibrated Opposition.
There was heavy police deployment at most of the crossings in the district, around 150 km from Uttar Pradesh's capital city, Lucknow.
The Lakhimpur violence, in which the son of senior BJP leader and Union minister of state Ajay Mishra Teni are accused of trampling four protesting farmers to death, has opened another front for the CM to deal with, after the mysterious death of Akhara Parishad president Mahant Narendra Giri last month and the death of a Kanpur-based trader in Gorakhpur recently.
There is a clamour for changing land-use from agriculture to commercial, residential or industrial.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that repealing the three farm laws without a debate in Parliament shows that the government is "terrified" and knows that it has done something wrong.
"Why am I being stopped? I am not going to Lakhimpur where prohibitory orders are in place. I am only going to the Uttar Pradesh Congress office," he told police.
Western UP contributes nearly 70 seats to the 402-member UP assembly. In 2017, the BJP had swept the region. Every pre-2022 poll survey had suggested the party would face its biggest attrition from this region because of the farmers' groups.
The Congress released a booklet 'Nau saal, Nau sawaal', asking nine questions from Modi. The BJP rejected the Congress' criticism as a 'bundle of lies and mountain of deception' and said the questions are born out of 'pathological hatred' of the PM.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who arrived Bahraich on Thursday to meet the families of two farmers killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, said by allowing Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra to continue on the post, the Centre is giving the message that those in power can do anything.
Opposition parties on Monday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh for not allowing their leaders to visit Lakhimpur Kheri after eight people died in violence there during an anti farm law protest, alleging it was an attempt to cover up and demanding the sacking of Union Minister Ajay Mishra and the arrest of his son, who have been named in an FIR.
Power and money are at the heart of the sordid story -- and it isn't over yet.
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