Amid the ongoing farmers' protest against the new farm laws, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said India's reputation has taken a 'massive hit' and its biggest strength, its soft power, has been 'shattered' by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Farmer leaders on Monday started their day-long hunger strike against the Centre's new farm laws and said protests will be held at all district headquarters later in the day, even as more people are expected to join the ongoing agitation at Delhi border points.
Urging all farmers across India to send one member of their family at Delhi borders to participate in the protest, Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav on Friday said the agitation against the three farm laws is not over.
There will be a complete ban on gathering, processions or rallies and entry of tractor trolleys carrying people in the national capital as the Delhi Police has imposed Section 144 for a month in the view of intended widespread tension and 'social unrest' due to the farmers' 'Delhi Chalo March' on Tuesday.
This comes after the government and opposition parties said a consensus has been reached to extend the duration of the allotted time on the discussion on a Motion Thanking the President for his Address to the Joint Sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajaya Sabha at the beginning of the Budget Session, from the currently allocated 10 hours to 15 hours.
A video clip of Khattar's comments went viral on the social media, with the Opposition alleging that he told the supporters of the BJP to pick up sticks against the protesting farmers.
"While there is a protest against reforms, lakhs of farmers are also gathering to express support for bills. Today, thousands of farmers gathered in Gwalior for it," said Tomar while addressing an ASSOCHAM session via video conferencing on Wednesday.
The price per kilogram of onion came down to Rs 2 to Rs 4, which angered the growers, who had stopped the auction at the APMC last week for a day.
In a series of tweets, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken numerous measures in farmers' interest while taking inspiration from Charan Singh and that he will not allow any harm to them under any circumstances.
The Delhi police had on Saturday increased security arrangements by deploying additional personnel and placing more concrete barriers.
Multiple pleas have been filed in the top court seeking a direction to authorities to immediately remove the farmers, saying commuters are facing hardships due to the road blockades and the gatherings might lead to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
Hazare appreciated farmers' protests at the borders of Delhi saying no violence has taken place in the last 10 days of the agitation.
The remarks came as farmer leaders Darshan Pal, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Gurnam Singh Chaduni and Rakesh Tikait of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha held an interaction with the press at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.
27-year-old Poojan Sahil who created the song can't be happier at its acceptance and success. The video of the song has almost 2.7 lakh views on YouTube in less than a week and is being widely shared across social media platforms.
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 party asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi why a conspiracy was being hatched to destroy the minimum support price (MSP) system and snatch the livelihood of 62 crore farmers.
Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh on Saturday turned 39 but instead of celebrating his birthday this year, the 2011 World Cup hero hoped for a 'swift resolution' to the ongoing farmers' issues through dialogue.
In a series of tweets, the Delhi Traffic Police said Tikri and Dhansa borders are closed for traffic movement, while Jhatikara border is open only for two-wheelers and pedestrians.
Karnal Sub-Divisional Magistrate Ayush Sinha, a 2018-batch IAS officer, was caught on camera telling police to 'break farmers' heads' during the farmers' protest.
'However, this time it looks like that is not working.'
A similar protest was organised by farmers on the Lucknow-Sitapur Highway.
The government on Tuesday asserted in Lok Sabha that it was ready to discuss issues related to farmers both inside and outside Parliament amid vociferous protests by the Opposition which forced repeated adjournments of both the Houses.
In separate letters in Hindi to Modi and Tomar, the AIKSCC said that the government is wrong in assuming that the farmers' agitation against the three farm laws is being engineered by opposition parties.
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.
He also urged people demonstrating against the laws across the country to observe a day-long hunger strike at their respective protest sites.
If the protests have cemented the ties between the peasantry and the traders, the political implications for the BJP might become too serious to be disregarded because its core base was made up of the urban Khatri merchants.
The Supreme Court has sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh Police regarding allegations that Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, influenced witnesses in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. The court directed the Lakhimpur Kheri superintendent of police to file the report after a complaint was made by advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the complainants. Bhushan claimed to have an audio recording of an attempt to influence witnesses and alleged that Mishra attended a public meeting in violation of his bail conditions. Mishra, through his lawyer, denied the allegations and stated that he was being targeted unnecessarily. The court has also asked for the authenticity of the material presented to be verified.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had earlier admitted that the choice of words by Ayush Sinha, a 2018-batch IAS officer, was wrong but had defended the police action.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, which is spearheading the protest against the Centre's three new agri-marketing laws, told the MPs the 'Voters' Whip' overrides their party whips.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting that lasted for little over two hours, Tomar said the government is still hopeful that union leaders will come with alternatives to discuss in the next round of talks on January 15.
Haryana is witnessing a multi-cornered contest this time, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party facing anti-incumbency and a resurgent Congress.
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.
A group of 200 farmers will travel to Jantar Mantar from the Singhu border in buses with a police escort and hold protests there from 11 am to 5 pm, sources in the Delhi Police said.
Schumer and Menendez said the months-long demonstrations have been met with orders from the central government and local authorities to shut off internet access in protest areas, cut off water and electricity supplies for the tens of thousands living in protest camps, and impede the work of journalists reporting on the protests.
Why PM has given debt relief to richest people, and not to the people who have built this country, he said.
Another round of discussions between the farmer unions and Centre is slated for Saturday.
Police said farmers have been allowed to hold peaceful protest at the Nirankari Ground in north Delhi.
"Our call of tractor march to Parliament still stands. A final decision on the future course of the agitation and MSP issues will be taken in a meeting of the SKM at Singhu Border on Sunday," farmer leader and SKM core committee member Darshan Pal told PTI on Saturday.
"Rahul Gandhi along with opposition leaders met President and submitted the memorandum to resolve farmers' issue. But there was no action from the President and the government. Rahul Gandhi will lead demonstration tomorrow at 10:45 am from Vijay Chowk to Rashtrapati Bhavan with Congress MPs," Suresh said.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said that the family members of Navreet Singh, who died in an accident during the farmers' tractor rally in the national capital on Republic Day want a judicial inquiry into farmer's death.
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