The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday promised 10-year punishment and Rs 1 lakh fine for those indulging in love jihad if it returns to power in Uttar Pradesh.
Rajya Sabha took up the discussion on The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill that have already been passed by Lok Sabha.
A delegation of opposition parties including Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar and Left leaders on Wednesday met President Ram Nath Kovind seeking repeal of the three farm laws against which thousands of farmers have been protesting on various borders of the national capital.
Retail prices of pulses have shot up 25-30 per cent in the last one year, forcing the government to ban exports and ease imports of the commodity.
The Haryana Police on Wednesday fired tear gas shells to disperse farmers from Punjab at Shambhu and Khanauri border points as they tried to move towards barricades stalling their protest march to Delhi.
The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd has decided to actively trade in imported edible oils after failing to procure sufficient quantity of mustard seeds from the domestic market due to high price.
According to a decision taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices will consider the above elements while recommending the MSP. The CACP, an advisory body under the agriculture ministry, recommends MSPs of over 20 crops, including wheat and rice.
It is hard to dispute the potency of myths in economic policy-making.
The Centre has decided to create a buffer stock of 350,000 tonnes.
The latest official numbers on the price of agricultural produce gives an idea of what's fueling the farmers' protest in Delhi.
Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at the Delhi border points --- Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur --- for over four months, demanding the repeal of farm laws and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price for their crops.
'It is the first-time voters and the agnostics who are often influenced by political advertising.' 'These swing voters tend to make a huge difference in the outcome of any election.'
Farmers said a big reason for the anger was the sudden stopping of wheat procurement by the state government in some places, which had caused the prices to dip below the minimum support price.
The auto major is not just looking at domestic sales, but also planning to ramp up exports to key markets from here, like the Middle East, North Africa and Australia.
He requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make an announcement that the farm loans would be waived, while a mechanism for the same could be worked out later.
The government on Wednesday raised the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy marginally by Rs 72 per quintal to Rs 1,940 per quintal for the 2021-22 crop year, while the rates of pulses, oilseeds and cereals were hiked substantially. Among the commercial crops, the MSP of cotton was increased by Rs 211 per quintal to Rs 5,726 for medium staple variety, and by Rs 200 per quintal to Rs 6,025 for long-staple variety of cotton for the 2021-22 crop year (July-June). The decision taken by the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will help farmers take a call on which kharif (summer) crop to grow as sowing picks with the spread of the Southwest monsoon in the coming weeks.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha has suspended its November 29 tractor march to Parliament and it will hold a meeting next month to decide its future course of action, farmer leaders said on Saturday.
The statement comes after videos and photos of workers removing the nails near Ghazipur border surfaced on social media.
Tomar said, "The prime minister had brought the three Bills that were passed by the Parliament. They would have benefitted farmers. PM's clear intention was to bring revolutionary changes in the lives of farmers. But I am pained that we failed to explain benefits to some farmers of the nation."
Chana is majorly imported from Australia and Tanzania and it attracts an import duty of 60 per cent. A section of the traders is demanding a reduction in import duty to around 35-40 per cent to tide over any shortage of the commodity as the new crop will start hitting the market only around mid-February.
In a statement the Sabha says that paddy cultivation has been severly affected and that the PM had not announced any hike in the Minimum Support Price for the growers, as sought by them. The Sabha also calls for the reccomendations of the MS Swaminathan Foundation on calculating MSP be implemented.
Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said business over hunger will not be allowed in the country and once again demanded a law on minimum support price (MSP) for crops along with the repeal of new contentious agri-marketing laws.
Two days after resigning from the Gujarat legislative assembly as a Congress legislator, Patidar community leader Harshad Ribadiya on Thursday joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Gandhinagar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday took the Congress to the cleaners over making the 2024 general elections about the protection of the Constitution, saying Indians voted on the plank only once when they threw out the Indira Gandhi government in 1977 after the Emergency.
Good sowing of kharif crops, better minimum support prices, and fewer Covid-19 cases (in villages) will help the rural growth story to continue, says Maruti.
Voicing his support for the farmers' protest in India, the Speaker of Wisconsin State Assembly has urged the Indian government to reconsider its decision on the three farm laws and listen to the concerns of the affected farmers.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi launched a no-holds-barred attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha on Monday, saying the leaders of the ruling party are not Hindus as they engage in "violence and hate" round the clock, drawing massive protests from the treasury benches, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing the Congress leader of calling the entire Hindu community violent.
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, are protesting at various borders of the national capital for more than a month against the laws and are demanding that these be repealed.
'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'
Jai Singh, a resident of Tungwali village in Bathinda district, and his brother had been part of the farmers' protest at the Haryana-Delhi border against the Centre's three farm laws for the last several days, according to Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) leader Shingara Singh.
India decided last week not to ratify WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement.
Likening Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the character of an arrogant king, 'ahankari raja', from stories of yore, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said he is unable to understand that the 'jawan' who has kept the country safe is also the son of a farmer.
He expressed hope that the deadlock between the farmers and the Central government will end soon and said he is constantly in touch with the Union Ministers regarding the issue.
Chaudhary Charan Singh, who on Friday was conferred with India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna, is popularly known as a champion of farmers.
Farmer leaders said unions do not allow any political party to use their stage and accused the government of diverting the issue.
Amidst high drama, 32 TDP MLAs, including party president N Chandrababu Naidu staged a demonstration near the Speaker's podium after the House was adjourned.Naidu and his colleagues slept on the floor and were preparing to corner the Congress government on the MSP issue as soon the House assembles on Monday, the last day of the 10-day winter session. In spite of repeated appeals by the Speaker, the slogan-shouting TDP legislators continued their sit-in near the podium.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has convened a meeting on Wednesday on bailing out the textile industry following the surge in input costs due to a sharp hike in the minimum support price of cotton in September.
'This is not the right way to speak about farmers. How can Kumaraswamy call farmers goondas?'
'The lack of a majority isn't the issue. He has enough in 240, especially as none of his allies can pull down his coalition.' 'That's why he's started as if this were just another, normal term. That pretence is vital for him.' 'The change for Modi 3.0 comes not from numbers, but from the new environment of contestation,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
