Farmers Protest in Delhi: Farmers have been demonstrating since late last month over the new farm bills
As the protest by the farmers, camping at the Delhi borders, against the Centre's agricultural reforms has entered its sixteenth day today, several routes in the national capital remained off bounds for commuters on Friday.
Farmers from different states have been camping at Delhi's Singhu, Tikri, Ghazipur and Chilla (Delhi-Noida) border points for nearly two weeks now to demand a repeal of the farm laws enacted in September.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has urged union leaders to consider the proposals and said he is ready for further discussions with them.
Here are the live updates on farmers' protests:
Don't Allow "Anti-Social" Elements Use Your Platform: Minister To FarmersAgriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday said some "anti-social elements" are conspiring to spoil the atmosphere of the peasants' movement under the guise of farmers and appealed the protesting farming community to be vigilant against their platform being misused.
He also said the government is sensitive towards farmers and is in discussion with them and their representatives to resolve their concerns.
2 Delhi IPS Officers Posted At Farmers' Protest Site Test Covid Positive
Amid heavy deployment at the Singhu border area, two of the Indian Police Service (IPS) officers who led the force where the farmers' protest is ongoing against three farm laws, have tested positive for coronavirus.
According to the Delhi Police, both the officers are currently under home isolation.
This comes on the 16th day of the farmers' agitation against the Centre's farm laws.
Farmer leaders on Thursday said that they would intensify their agitation by blocking railways to put pressure on the government for the repeal of three farm laws after rejecting the Centre's proposals to make amendments on Wednesday.
Will Quit If No Minimum Price For Farmers: Haryana Deputy Chief Minister
Haryana's Deputy Chief Minister, Dushyant Chautala, a key BJP ally, on Friday promised to resign from his post if he is unable to secure the minimum support price (MSP) guarantee for farmers. The remark comes a day after the farmers protesting at the Delhi border rejected the Centre's written assurance that the support price system will not be scrapped and insisted on repeal of the three contentious agriculture laws.
"Our party's national president already made it clear that MSP must be ensured to farmers. The written proposals given by the Central government to the protesting farmers include a provision for MSPs. I will work to secure MSP for farmers as long as I am in power. I will resign from my post the day I am unable to fulfil the promise," Mr Chautala was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.
"Hijacked By Ultra-Left": New Spin As Farmers' Protests EscalateAs the ruling BJP commissioned a media blitz to tackle the stalemate with farmers protesting the new agricultural laws, the central government on Friday began pushing a narrative that the "ultra-left" has hijacked the demonstrations.
Through unofficial channels of communication referred to as "government sources" in media circles, functionaries in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration drew a parallel between the farmers' agitation and the Bhima-Koregaon violence near Pune in 2018.
Government sources blamed the "ultra-left" and "pro-Left Wing Extremist elements" - not different from those labelled as "Urban Naxals" by fanatical supporters of the BJP-led government on social media - for the farmers' movement taking a sinister turn.
Read PM Modi Spoke On Farm Laws 25 Times, 2.23 Crore Messages Sent: SourcesPrime Minister Narendra Modi spoke more than 25 times on farm reforms and led the government's effort to reach out to farmers, top sources said today, challenging the perception that the new farm laws at the core of massive protests were enacted without enough consultation.
Sources said the government had reached out to farmers "before and after" enacting the agricultural laws. "PM spoke more than 25 times, more than 2.23 crore SMS were sent to farmers in October and 1,37,054 webinars were held that reached out to 92 lakhs farmers and the Agriculture Minister (Narendra Tomar) had multiple meetings," said sources.
Read "Don't Test Tolerance Of Annadata": Sharad Pawar Tells Centre On Farmer ProtestNCP chief Sharad Pawar today warned the central government against testing the patience of farmers protesting against the three new agricultural laws which, he said, had been hurried through Parliament. If not tackled in time, the senior leader said, the agitation could snowball as more people join it from various parts of the country.
"The farm laws were passed in hurry. There is a chance that this protest will spread across the nation. The solution to end this stalemate is to roll back the laws and have discussion with farmers," Mr Pawar told mediapersons in Mumbai.
Read Farmer Union Goes To Supreme Court, Wants "Arbitrary" Farm Laws ScrappedThe Bhartiya Kisan Union has filed a petition in the Supreme Court asking it to quash three agricultural laws passed by Parliament in September. Thousands of farmers have over the past few weeks been protesting against these laws, demanding that the government repeal them.
The Bhartiya Kisan Union's petition, filed by its president Bhanu Pratap Singh, claimed that the three laws will lead to commercialisation and will throw the farmers at the mercy of corporates. Citing the ongoing farmers' protest along the national capital's borders, it said a "rail roko" agitation, too, would begin soon.
Read 100 Press Conferences, 700 Meets: BJP's Farm Laws Campaign Amid PushbackWith no end to the deadlock between protesting farmers and the government, the BJP has planned a massive campaign across the country to promote the controversial farm laws against which farmers have been protesting for the sixteenth straight day. As part of the big push from the ruling party over the next few days, 100 press conferences and 700 farmers 'meets have been planned in 700 districts, sources in the party said.
Cabinet ministers will also take part in the communication campaign, BJP sources said, adding that the government's measures to address the issues raised by farmers on the agricultural lawns will also be spelt out during the outreach.
The BJP will also address questioned and concerns people have about the farm laws, they said.
Read Have not received any reply from farmers on govt proposal, says Union Agriculture Minister
Amid the ongoing farmers' protest against the farm laws, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday said that the Central government has sent their proposal to the farmers union, adding that they have discussed it but have not responded to the same.
"Our proposal is with them (farmers), they discussed it but we have not received any reply from them. We came to know through media that they have rejected the proposal. Yesterday I had said that if they want to, we can definitely talk about the proposal," said Agriculture Minister NS Tomar.
The Union Minister expressed hope that the government will be able to find the solution to the issues raised by the protesting farmers.
100 Press Conferences, 700 Meets: BJP's Farm Laws Campaign Amid PushbackWith no end to the deadlock between protesting farmers and the government, the BJP has planned a massive campaign across the country to promote the controversial farm laws against which farmers have been protesting for the sixteenth straight day. As part of the big push from the ruling party over the next few days, 100 press conferences and 700 farmers 'meets have been planned in 700 districts, sources in the party said. Read more
Farmers' protest: Several roads remain closed in Delhi
With thousands of farmers protesting against the Centre's new agri laws staying put at Delhi borders, several routes in the national capital remained off bounds for commuters on Friday.
The Delhi Traffic Police took to Twitter to inform people about road closures and advised them to take alternative routes to avoid inconvenience.
Farmers from different states have been camping at Delhi's Singhu, Tikri, Ghazipur and Chilla (Delhi-Noida) border points for nearly two weeks now to demand a repeal of the farm laws enacted in September.
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.
Those travelling to neighbouring Haryana can take routes via Jharoda (only single carriageway), Daurala, Kapashera, Badusarai, Rajokri NH 8, Bijwasan/Bajghera, Palam Vihar and Dundahera borders, the police said.
On Thursday, farmer unions threatened to block railway tracks across the country and all highways leading to Delhi if their demands are not met.
Charity service from Amritsar provides meals to agitating farmers who're protesting new farm laws, at Ghazipur border.
"There's no count of people who're fed. From 5am-9pm we serve food. We'll continue until govt listens to farmers," says senior member of the establishment.
Members of Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee begin their journey to Delhi to join the ongoing farmers protest against the new agriculture laws
"Around 700 tractor trolleys are moving towards Delhi's Kundli border," says SS Pandher, Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committe.
"Jan Andolan" If Farmers' Demands Not Met: Anna Hazare
Social activist Anna Hazare on Thursday extended his support to farmer protests and warned the Central government that he would begin a "Jan Andolan" if farmers' demands remain unaddressed.
"The then Congress government was left shaken during the time of ''Lokpal Andolan''. I see these farmer protests issue along the same lines. On the day of Bharat Bandh, I had organised an andolan in my village in Ralegan-Siddhi. I had fasted for a day in support of farmers," said Mr Hazare.
"If the government does not accept the demands of the farmers, I will once again sit for a ''Jan Andolan'' that will be similar to the Lokpal agitation," he warned.
Over the past few months, thousands of farmers have been protesting against three new agricultural laws, which they feel could be exploited by the private sector to buy their crops at lower prices.
Ongoing farmers protest against Centre's new farm laws enters 16th day; Visuals from Singhu border.
Ongoing farmers protest against Centre's new farm laws enters 16th day; Visuals from Singhu border.
2 IPS Officers Posted At Singhu Border Area Test Covid Positive
Amid heavy deployment at the Singhu border area, two of the Indian Police Service (IPS) officers who led the force where the farmers' protest is ongoing against three farm laws, have tested positive for coronavirus.
According to the Delhi Police, both the officers are currently under home isolation. The Delhi police officers who tested positive has been identified as Outer North Deputy Superintendent of Police (DCP) Gaurav and Additional DCP Ghanshyam Bansal.
This comes on the 16th day of the farmers' agitation against the Centre's farm laws.
Farmer leaders on Thursday said that they would intensify their agitation by blocking railways to put pressure on the government for the repeal of three farm laws after rejecting the Centre's proposals to make amendments on Wednesday.
Farmers protest against Centre's farm laws at Tikri border enters 16th day
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar yesterday said that the government is open for further discussions with farmers and they should end their agitation.
After Boris Johnson Blooper, UK Says Following Farmer Protests "Closely"UK Foreign Office is closely following the protests by farmers in India, a government spokesperson said today as it clarified that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had "clearly misheard" a question in Parliament when he responded with Britain's stance on the India-Pakistan dispute instead.
The gaffe occurred during the weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) session in the House of Commons on Wednesday, when PM Johnson reiterated that any dispute between India and Pakistan was for the two countries to settle bilaterally in response to a question by Opposition Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi about conveying British Sikh "anxieties" over the ongoing protests against agricultural reforms in India.
A UK government spokesperson said: "The Prime Minister clearly misheard the question in Parliament. The Foreign Office are following the issue of protests in India closely".
Mr Dhesi, who has been very vocal on the protests by farmers against India's agricultural reforms, had raised the issue of the footage of "water cannons, teargas and brute force" being used against the peaceful protesters.
- A day after protesting farmers rejected the government's offer for a written assurance on Minimum Support Price (MSP) and amend few provisions in the new farm laws, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has urged union leaders to consider the proposals and said he is ready for further discussions with them.
- "The government is ready to consider with an open mind any provision in the new laws where farmers have any issues and we want to clarify all their apprehensions," Mr Tomar said.
- "We kept waiting for suggestions from farmers' leaders to address their concerns, but they are stuck on the repeal of laws," he said, while virtually ruling out conceding to the key demand with which thousands of farmers are protesting on various borders of the national capital for nearly two weeks.
- Mr Tomar said the government has always been ready for dialogue with farmers and it remains so.