Farmers at the Singhu border on Wednesday (Express photo/Amit Mehra)Farmers Protest Today Live Updates: Akali Dal leader and five-time Chief Minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal returned the Padma Vibhushan to protest the “betrayal of farmers” by the government. “I am who I am because of the people, especially the common farmer. Today when he has lost more than his honour, I see no point in holding on to the Padma Vibhushan honour,” he wrote in a letter to the president Ram Nath Kovind.
Meanwhile, the Centre is today again meeting the 35 farmer groups. Ahead of the meeting, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, “Today is the fourth round of talks and I’m hoping for a positive outcome.”
In other news, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh also met Home Minister Amit Shah today and appealed to the Centre to resolve the farmers’ issue as soon as possible. “Discussion is going on between farmers and Centre, there’s nothing for me to resolve. I reiterated my opposition in my meeting with Home Minister and requested him to resolve the issue as it affects the economy of my state and security of the nation,” he told reporters after his meeting with Shah today.
The farm leaders said they will call off the stir only if the government agrees to repeal the three farm laws passed by Parliament. They have also demanded a special session of Parliament to repeal the new farm laws and threatened to block other roads of the national capital if their demands are not met. Farmer unions leading the stir also called for a nationwide protest on December 5 against what they called corporatisation of farming that the new laws will enable. Meanwhile, a Bathinda farmer died of heart attack at the Tikri border this morning. Lakhvir Singh was part of the BKU (Ugrahan)’s protest group. He is the sixth farmer to have died after joining farmers’ Delhi morcha.
Farmers gathered at New Delhi's Singhu border.
The farmer unions said the new laws would give “unregulated freedom to corporates”.
Farmer leaders hold a press conference at Singhu Border on Sunday. (Express Photo: Gajendra Yadav)
Opposing Centre's farm laws, Rajya Sabha MP and chief of Shiromani Akali Dal (Democratic) — a breakaway faction of Shiromani Akali Dal — Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa also returned the Padma award. Dhindsa had resigned from SAD in 2019.
Akali Dal leader and five-time Chief Minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal returned the Padma Vibhushan to protest the "betrayal of farmers" by the government. “I am who I am because of the people, especially the common farmer. Today when he has lost more than his honour, I see no point in holding on to the Padma Vibhushan honour,” he wrote in a letter to the president Ram Nath Kovind.
Badal described the betrayal of the farmers by the government as “bolts from the blue on the already beleaguered peasantry of the country” adding that ”farmer finds himself waging bitter struggles in the severe cold just to secure his fundamental right to live."
Vehicular movement remained obstructed on a key road connecting Noida and Delhi on Thursday in view of the farmers' protest at the national capital's border for the third day in a row, officials said. Only one of the two carriageways on the Noida Link Road (also known as the Chilla road) was open, allowing commuters coming from Delhi to enter Uttar Pradesh via Noida, they said. The other side of the road where the protesting farmers are staying put remains closed to prevent any vehicular movement from Noida to Delhi. The Noida Traffic Police had issued an advisory informing people about route diversions on Thursday and suggested them to take the DND or the Kalindi Kunj routes instead of the Noida Link road to reach Delhi. (PTI)
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh appealed to the Centre to resolve the farmers' issue as soon as possible. "Discussion is going on between farmers and Centre, there's nothing for me to resolve. I reiterated my opposition in my meeting with Home Minister and requested him to resolve the issue as it affects the economy of my state and the security of the nation," he told reporters after his meeting with Shah today.
A meeting is underway between the farm union leaders and the Centre. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Union Minister Piyush Goyal are meeting the leaders to find a common ground.
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla requesting him to convene a short Winter Session of Parliament to discuss the farmers' protest. The Congress leader also wants a discussion on the status of the COVID-19 vaccine, economic slowdown & border stand-off with China.
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla requesting him to convene a short Winter Session of Parliament to discuss the farmers' protest. The Congress leader also wants a discussion on the status of the COVID-19 vaccine, economic slowdown & border stand-off with China.
"Govt is constantly discussing issues with farmers. Today is the fourth round of talks & I'm hoping for a positive outcome," Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told reporters ahead of the meeting
Ahead of the second round of talks between the Centre and the farm unions, Home Minister Amit Shah is meeting Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today. The Chief Minister, sources said, wants the Centre to take a call on the new farm laws, given the growing anger among farmers. He has been of the view that the Centre should agree to make MSP a statutory right for farmers and ensure that the mandi system continues.
Farmer leaders arrive at Vigyan Bhawan for the next round of discussions. "We are hopeful that the talks will be productive. If our demands are not met then the farmers will take part in the Republic Day parade held in Delhi," Rakesh Tikat, a farmer leader was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Bathinda's Lakvir Singh died of a heart attack at the Tikri border.
From an Army veteran and a former medical practitioner to a former footballer and dyed-in-the-wool Communists, meet the 35 who are sitting across the table in the meeting with the government today. Read more about them
Ahead of the meeting between Amarinder Singh and Amit Shah, former union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that a 'Capt-Modi' nexus has been exposed.
Badal tweeted, "Capt-Modi nexus exposed: Capt didn't move an inch when ordinances were passed, nor when farmers sat on rail tracks, neither when they faced water cannons & tear gas & braved the chill on Delhi roads. But HM cracks the whip & he runs, but in whose interest is million $ question!"
The Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) Wednesday came out in support of farmers and urged the Prime Minister for repealing farm laws and to give an audience to them to come out with an amicable solution. It also said there was a need to bring a legislation for the welfare of farmers. The bar body said the farm laws are more detrimental to the interest of legal professionals across the country and the ‘Bar of Civil Court jurisdiction' will substantially affect the district courts and high courts in some states.
The BCD, in a statement issued by its Chairman and senior advocate Ramesh Gupta, said the nature of subject matters covered under these laws are so vast that all disputes up till now entertained by civil courts will be adjudicated by SDMs or ADMs, who are not part of regular courts. It said the government should have unhesitatingly consulted and taken lawyers into confidence, more so when farm laws are simply not related to routine revenue matters but the ones which are basically contractual and commercial.
Delhi BJP MP and former president of the party's state unit Manoj Tiwari on Wednesday claimed that the so-called "tukde tukde gang" was trying to turn the farmers' stir at the national capital's borders into a Shaheen Bagh like protest. Tiwari, in a statement, said alleged slogans in favour of Khalistan and threat to the Prime Minister by some protesters among the farmers showed that it was a "well planned conspiracy" to create "unrest" in the country.
“Presence of individuals and groups who opposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) and CAA at Shaheen Bagh clearly establishes that the 'tukde-tukde' gang is trying to experiment with Shaheen Bagh 2.0 and create unrest under the grab of farmers' protest,” charged Tiwari. Shaheen Bagh in South Delhi was the hub of the agitation against the citizenship amendment act earlier this year, before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
Farmers' leaders depart from the Singhu border for their meeting the government on farm laws. Meanwhile, Som Prakash, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, expressed hope that the meeting would end the deadlock. "We are hopeful that the meeting will be successful. The aim of holding a dialogue is to find a solution," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI
Gurjant Singh (60), a resident of Bachhoana village of Mansa district, died Wednesday morning at the Tikri border where he had gone to protest against Centre’s farm laws. He was part of the BKU (Ugrahan)’s protest group. Gurjant had got sick at the protest site on the intervening night of December 1 and 2 after which he was rushed to the hospital. He was referred to Rohtak, where he was declared dead.
The 60-year-old had started for Delhi from Dabwali border on December 27 morning and had reached at Tikri border after more than 15 hours due to hurdles on the way created by Haryana government and also due to traffic congestion, said Lachman Singh Sewewala, general secretary of Pendu Khet Mazdoor Union.
Ahead of the meeting with Centre, heavy security deployment continues at Singhu border
The three contentious farm bills, which received the President’s nod on September 27, essentially change the rules around the sale, storage and pricing of farm produce. The bills have been touted as a watershed moment for Indian agriculture by the Prime Minister, as the government claims that the reforms would remove the shackles from the agriculture sector and free farmers from the stranglehold of middlemen by creating one market. However, farmers’ unions and groups have concerns about two major issues: First, since the Minimum Support Price (MSP) is not mentioned in the bills, they fear that they will lose the assured option of selling to the APMC mandis and that this will lead to corporate exploitation. Second, they apprehend a process of corporatisation of agriculture in the absence of regulation, as agribusiness firms might well be able to dictate both the market conditions (including prices) and the terms of contract farming as small farmers do not have the same bargaining power. Christophe Jaffrelot and Hemal Thakker, both belonging to Sciences Po, Paris, ask: “Why should agriculture be liberalised in the first place when in most countries governments subsidise this sector?”
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah Thursday morning, before the next round of talks between the Centre and farmer union representatives, to try and resolve the standoff over the newly enacted farm laws.
Sources said the Chief Minister sought time from Shah for a meeting Thursday and it will take place at 9.30 am. Punjab officials, including Chief Principal Secretary Suresh Kumar, will accompany Singh to discuss the farmer protests at the gates of Delhi, sources said.
The Chief Minister, sources said, wants the Centre to take a call on the new farm laws, given the growing anger among farmers. He has been of the view that the Centre should agree to make MSP a statutory right for farmers and ensure that the mandi system continues. Sources said Singh could also raise the issue of Bills passed by the Punjab Assembly in October to negate the Centre’s laws. The Bills are yet to get the assent of the Governor. Singh had earlier indicated he would legal recourse should the Governor not grant approval to the Bills and send them to the President.