With just the right amount of rhetoric, provocation and promises, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi's much-publicised padyatra struck a chord. Each step he took looked impromptu -- there were no announcements or itineraries or discussions.
The Centre may pass any law undermining the Constitution and on the back of its majority, but once the common man and farmers rise, they will not keep quiet until the new farm acts and the ruling party are destroyed, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar said on Monday.
At least six police personnel and some people were injured in the incident, while 106 protesters were detained and released later, an officer said.
A slight intensity quake with western Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat as its epicentre shook the capital and adjoining areas early Tuesday morning.
Tension prevailed on Monday in parts of western Uttar Pradesh hit by farmers' unrest over land acquisition even as a heavy police deployment was made in the affected areas and political leaders were detained preventing them from reaching the troubled spots.
The Bhartiya Kisan Union Lokshakti said the principle of natural justice is going to be violated as those appointed to the four-member committee 'have already supported these laws'.
'...if elections were to be held today.' 'The problem is Akhilesh is not very aggressive.' 'Had he started his campaign aggressively six months ago, the picture in UP would have been very different.'
An interesting phenomenon of the UP assembly elections 2012 is the emergence of many small Muslim political outfits, says Dr Mohammad Sajjad
After his party formally joined the United Progressive Alliance on Monday, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh is likely to be sworn in as a Union Cabinet Minister this week with civil aviation being mentioned as the possible portfolio.
Here are some of the key farmer leaders who fronted the protests.
Sources in the Congress Party have said that the Rashtriya Lok Dal leader is likely to be given the civil aviation portfolio and will contest 45 to 50 seats in western UP. Renu Mittal reports.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Friday trained her guns on Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi for allegedly refusing to have a meal in a Dalit's home, where he spent Thursday night, during the course of his four-day old padyatra in parts of Western Uttar Pradesh.
The 41-year-old Congress general secretary is on the second day of his padayatra -- 'Kisan Sandesh Yatra' -- in western Uttar Pradesh, a footmarch billed as a campaign against Chief Minister Mayawati ahead of the Congress's proposed 'kisan mahapanchayat' in the neighbouring Aligarh district on July 9
The minister said that the last meeting held on December 30, 2020, happened in a cordial atmosphere and there is a possibility of positive results in the interest of farmers and of the country's farm sector at the next meeting.
The situation was tense but under control on Tuesday in parts of western Uttar Pradesh hit by farmers' unrest over land acquisition as police released sketches of 24 troublemakers who incited violence in Agra and maintained a strict vigil.
It is believed that the crop residue burning in the nearby states of Punjab and Haryana are contributing to polluting the air.
Priyanka said she has highlighted each and every "police excess" in her lengthy memorandum to Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel during her previous visit to the state.
Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh will be inducted as a Union Cabinet minister on Sunday in a minor expansion of the Council of Ministers by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Perhaps the BJP will win the UP elections, but that will be a political win and will leave the problems on the ground from the economy to national security to disaffected farmers and minorities intact, asserts Aakar Patel.
The activists told police that the two were allegedly found in an objectionable position.
With a view to containing the crisis arising due to the on-going farmers' agitation in western Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Mayawati on Friday chalked out a new farmer-friendly course.
Sahim Salim chronicles day four of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi's padyatra through the dusty villages of western Uttar Pradesh.
A body representing the caste councils of western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi has expressed its opposition to the proposed amendments of law to deal with honour killings and will submit a memorandum to the President on the issue.The All Khap Panchayat held at Shamli town in the district on Sunday evening, which was attended by the heads of different caste councils from western Utter Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi, had decided to oppose the proposed amendments.
The BJP announced names of 107 candidates for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
Tens of thousands of farmers gathered in Muzaffarnagar town on Friday to attend a mahapanchayat in support of the Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre's new farm laws in Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.
Many non-NDA parties have extended support to the nationwide 10-hour strike on Monday called by farmers protesting against the three agri laws under the aegis of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM).
'Farmers will block rail tracks in various places. Markets and transport services will be closed during 'Bharat Bandh'
Hours after the macabre crime, a man wearing the blue robes of the Sikhs' Nihang order appeared before the media, claiming that he had 'punished' the victim for 'desecrating' a holy book.
The Lakhimpur Kheri violence, in which four farmers were killed, is "absolutely condemnable," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said, emphasising that there are issues of such nature happening in other parts of India equally which should be raised "when they happen and not when it suits others" because there is a Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh.
The monsoon situation in the northern region of the country will improve over the next couple of days and August will receive above average rainfall, Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar has assured.Quoting the latest report from the Indian Meteorological Department, Pawar told reporters in Hyderabad on Saturday that the states of Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Bihar and Himachal Pradesh will receive 86 per cent rainfall during July.
Tension prevailed in Sisoli village in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh after supporters of Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Mahender Singh Tikait clashed with police trying to arrest him for allegedly making derogatory remarks against state Chief Minister Mayawati, leaving a dozen policemen injured. Uttar Pradesh government has sounded an alert in all the districts of Western Uttar Pradesh and paramilitary forces rushed to the area to avoid any untoward incident.
Deposit of pollution particles on transmission lines was attributed as the reason for tripping, which officials described as a common phenomenon during winter -- which has been unusually long this year. Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana were the most hit due to the failure in the lines.
According to the complaint filed by the victim's family, she had left her house to use the toilet on Wednesday night. The two accused policemen reportedly dragged her to a car and raped her.
British lawmakers will debate the issue of press freedom and safety of protesters in India next Monday in response to an e-petition which had crossed the 1,00,000-signature threshold required for such a debate, the House of Commons Petitions Committee had confirmed earlier this week.
Kejriwal's centralised way of governance might work in Delhi, but Punjab will call for delegation, observes Sanjeev Nayyar.
The panchayat polls will be seen as a kind of verdict from the hinterland for Yogi Adityanath ahead of the crucial 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections.
With this deal, Jaipuria's RJ Corp will own over 10 bottling plants, controlling 25 per cent of PepsiCo's bottling capacity in the country (earlier he was PepsiCo's largest bottler together with his family). Confirming the development, Jaipuria said the deal would be complete in a day or two. "The West Bengal operations will contribute 10 to 15 per cent to our turnover," he said.
Among the key demands of agitating farmers has been a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP). The protest reached a crescendo when thousands of farmers from Punjab and elsewhere marched towards Delhi late last year and decided to block the main entry points once they were denied entry. The Centre, on its part, held 11 rounds of discussions with the protesters and even offered to amend some of the provisions without much success. With now one of their chief demands met, farmers have now moved on to force the government to concede on MSP.
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.
The Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal and some smaller parties will contest the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls together, and an announcement in this regard would be made soon, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Tuesday.
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