The deal fell through over unresolved disagreements over contentious issues, mainly on agriculture and automotive sector tariffs.
'India's farmers will be unable to compete with the US, given the subsidies that the latter provides its farmers.'
An First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against Vishwa Vokkaliga Mahasamastana Math seer Kumara Chandrashekaranatha Swamiji for his remarks on voting power to Muslims. The seer made the controversial statement during a protest meeting against notices issued by Karnataka's Waqf board, urging everyone to unite to protect farmers and their land. He later expressed regret, calling his statement a "slip of tongue".
An increase in the farmer income support scheme PM Kisan Nidhi, the introduction of a 'robot tax' to fund reskilling of people who lose their jobs to artificial intelligence (AI), and a reduced income-tax (I-T) to bring relief to the middle classes - these are some of the items in the Budget wish list submitted by Sangh Parivar affiliates to Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman. Representatives of the affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), such as the farmer organisation Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS); trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS); Laghu Udyog Bharati, which works for micro and small industries; and Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), which works on economic and policy issues, met the FM and other officials over the last couple of weeks as part of the pre-Budget consultations.
Rice exporters have requested the Centre for a flat export duty of $80 per tonne for parboiled rice instead of the current 20 per cent duty to smoothen trade, a top official of the rice exporters' umbrella body said on Sunday. The Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF) has also requested the government to reconsider its export ban on white rice which was imposed in July and reduction in the minimum export price for basmati rice to $850 per tonne to prevent negative impacts on both export volumes and farmers. On Friday, the government had extended the 20 per cent duty on parboiled rice exports until March 24.
Eight people were killed -- four farmers allegedly run over and four people in a convoy of BJP workers who were lynched -- on Sunday as violence erupted during a farmers' protest in Lakhimpur Kheri district in Uttar Pradesh.
RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale met with the leadership of the UP BJP, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, state BJP President Bhupendra Chaudhary and state BJP General Secretary (Organisation) Dharmapal.
Outfits related to labour and agriculture critical of policies, say their voices are not being heard. Archis Mohan reports.
'If a company contracts to buy its produce after three or four months, is there any loss in it?'
The groups, including those associated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's parent organisation the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, have also threatened a big nationwide agitation if growth of illegal GM crops isn't checked.
Centre's move to form a 29-member panel on making the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism effective and keeping three positions vacant in it for SKM representatives has triggered strong disapproval from it.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has held a series of meetings with MPs and Union ministers from Punjab and Haryana and surrounding states, and virtual interactions with state agricultural ministers of all BJP-led National Democratic Alliance ruled states where he briefed them about the merits of the two bills, the sources said.
'We were among the first organisations to voice our opposition to the three Acts long before anyone else and had sent memorandums collected from 3,000 tehsils across the country to the agriculture ministry to amend the Bills, but nothing was accepted,' says BKS general secretary Badri Narayan Chaudhary.
Electoral politics is going to be an important part of farmer protests going forward.
With support from other farmer organisations and activists, including RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, the potato growers have not only sought compensation but also called for boycott of the food giant's products.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a forum comprising 40 farmer unions, called for a Bharat Bandh on Monday against the Centre's three agriculture laws. Here is its impact across the country:
The Uttar Pradesh government grappled on Monday with the aftermath of violence during a farmers protest in Lakhimpur Kheri, lodging a case against Union minister Ajay Mishra's son, promising a probe by a retired high court judge and stopping opposition leaders from reaching the trouble spot.
The 63-year old, who was convalescing after a minor surgery recently, fell down in the bathroom in the afternoon and was taken to the Deendayal Hospital in Pune, where he breathed his last at 1630 IST.
The ongoing Gujarat cotton farmers' agitation demanding better minimum support price took a new turn on Wednesday, after a 21-year-old farmer died due to self-immolation at the district's Vinchhiya marketing yard, because of not getting a good price for his cotton.
Bharat Krishak Samaj demanded that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana should be replaced with a new crop insurance and compensation scheme.
'The PM cannot give a single reason why farmers should trust him.'
To tide over the difficulties due to incessant shutdowns, several farmers in Maharashtra have turned into aggregators and started selling their produce without the help of mandis or agents. They have started contracting with bulk consumers like hypermarkets and co-operative housing societies to sell their produce directly.
This comes despite sharp criticism received from various RSS affiliated organisations
'Government is saying that I will not be responsible for ensuring you get MSP but traders and large corporate will be responsible. 'India now is the only country that is saying such things'
The decision marks first successful policy intervention.
'By holding forth on Swadeshi economics, Bhagwat is showing his intent to fight back,' says Shekhar Gupta.
SAD and Paksha have written to the panel headed by S S Ahluwalia that "not an inch" of land should be acquired without the consent of farmers.
The Enforcement Directorate had last week arrested Chhagan Bhujbal's associate and chartered accountant Sunil Naik in connection with the case.
BKS and BMS leaders have told the BJP leadership that it is staring at a build-up of anti-government propaganda in the run-up to polls in five states.
In view of the volatile situation, the Centre rushed 1,100 personnel of anti-riot Rapid Action Force.
BMS, BKS and SJM are trying to forge common cause with outfits on the other side of the ideological divide over the government's policies they are not in agreement with.
Rahul Gandhi's absence has shocked political circles who say it is unthinkable for a political party to not have its vice-president present in Parliament to stand up and raise his voice against the government's more than a dozen controversial policies in its less than nine-month rule.
According to the initial estimates, the flooding of rivers and heavy rainfall has caused damage to the agriculture crop to the tune of Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion) in the state.
The Opposition has alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh runs the Narendra Modi government.
'Only on two occasions has the RSS thrown itself completely on the side of the BJP.' 'In 1977 in the wake of the Emergency. And in 2014 with Modi.' 'Now, I've been told that this is not going to happen in 2019.'
Sangh affiliates believe the government's apparent anti-poor message led to their loss
MPs will first attend a 'Farm Progress Show' in Iowa, then visit the Monsanto headquarters in St Louis, Missouri.
The RSS on Sunday said it has not abandoned its commitment to build a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and sought speeding up of the case proceedings in the Supreme Court.
'I want to ask Modiji is the support price announced by him good enough to make a farmer's sons to start farming in their villages?' 'Can he swear by Bharat Mata and say that is true?'
'I hope the anger that Gujarat farmers have demonstrated is also reflected in other parts of the country in ensuing elections.' 'Only then will the ruling parties accept that something is terribly going wrong in the hinterland.'
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