Farm laws: Protest enters 23rd day, PM Modi to address farmers from Madhya Pradesh
Bharatiya Kisan Union chief Naresh Tikait asked the government to call an all-party meeting to resolve the standoff with the farmers.
The farmers’ protest against the Centre’s three agricultural laws at Delhi’s border points entered the 23rd day on Friday. They remain firm on their demand the Centre repeal the laws.
Amid the protests, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address farmers from Madhya Pradesh around 2 pm on Friday. He had talked about the farm crisis a few times, with the latest when he was in Gujarat’s Kutch district earlier this week.
Bharatiya Kisan Union chief Naresh Tikait asked the government to call an all-party meeting to resolve the standoff with the farmers. On Thursday, the Supreme Court, while hearing a bunch of petitions seeking removal of farmers from various borders of Delhi, said that it had sympathy for them, but they cannot sit on protest for years. The court also asked the Centre if the laws could be put on hold till the hearing on petitions was underway.
Tens of thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting at key entry points to Delhi. They fear the agricultural reforms will weaken the minimum support price mechanism under which the government buys agricultural produce, will lead to the deregulation of crop-pricing, deny them fair remuneration for their produce and leave them at the mercy of corporations.
Live updates
10.33 am: A 60-year-old man from Bihar’s Siwan district cycles nearly 1,000 kilometres for 11 days to join the farmers’ protest near Delhi.
Delhi: A 60-year-old man reaches Tikri at Delhi-Haryana border from Bihar on a bicycle to participate in farmers' protest. "It took me 11 days to reach here from Siwan, my home district. I urge the government to take back the three farm laws," says Satyadev Manjhi. pic.twitter.com/SuWbUeYC9p
— ANI (@ANI) December 17, 2020
10.26 am: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam observes a one-day fast for the protesting farmers in Chennai.
போராடும் விவசாயிகளுக்கு ஆதரவாக உண்ணாநிலை அறப்போராட்டம் - நேரலை https://t.co/bzLu7GS3ej
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) December 18, 2020
10.25 am: The Chilla border opens from the Delhi-Noida side. The Singhu and Tikri borders still remain closed.
Traffic Alert
— Delhi Traffic Police (@dtptraffic) December 18, 2020
Chilla Border one carriageway from Delhi to Noida is open for traffic however other carriageway from Noida to Delhi is closed.
10.21 am: Actor Swara Bhasker joined the farmers’ protest at Singhu border on Thursday.
A humbling day, to see the grit, resolve and determination of protesting farmers and the elderly at #SinghuBorder #FarmersProtests pic.twitter.com/WIGg6bdqkF
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) December 17, 2020
10.16 am: The administration of Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal city revises the amount it asked six farmer leaders to pay for allegedly trying to instigate farmers in the area from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 50,000, PTI reports.
10.13 am: The farmers at Singhu border says they will set up more tents as the cold wave is intensifying, ANI reports. “We’re preparing ourselves for a longer stay as our fight against black laws will continue, the farmers add.
Delhi: Protesting farmers at Singhu border say they're making more tent arrangements to face cold weather conditions.
— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2020
"We're preparing ourselves for a longer stay as our fight against black laws will continue. It's getting colder, so we're putting more tents," says a protester. pic.twitter.com/7Jd1yBccFP
8.34 am: Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee member Dayal Singh says they will not give up the fight against the three laws.
Singhu border: Farmers' protest against the three farm laws passed by the Centre has entered its 23rd day today
— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2020
"PM should talk to the farmers & take back the farm laws. We will not give up our fight against these laws,"says Dayal Singh, Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Punjab pic.twitter.com/uuCnH9tIGX
8.10 am: Bharatiya Kisan Union chief Naresh Tikait asks the government to call an all-party meeting to resolve the standoff with the farmers, Hindustan Times reports.
8.07 am: Gujarat Agriculture Minister Ranchhod Faldu, on the other hand, says that the new laws are meant to correct the Congress governments mistakes, according to The Indian Express.
7.57 am: Gujarat Energy Minister Saurabh Patel accuses the Congress of using the farm laws as a “political opportunity” against the Centre, The Indian Express reports. He says that the Opposition party is frustrated about not being able to come to power.
7.54 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address farmers from Madhya Pradesh at around 2 pm on Friday via videoconference.
7.46 am: Here is a recap of the events from Thursday: