PM address to farmers LIVE: PM Modi to speak to farmers from six states shortly

Home Minister Amit Shah has reached Mehrouli in South Delhi, where he will listen to Prime Minister Modi's address to farmers from six states under Centre's mega outreach programme. Prime Minister will shortly address farmers and release the next instalments of PM-Kisan.  

The BJP has made plans to ensure participation of over one crore of them at thousands of venues across the nation today when Prime Minister Modi effects the transfer of Rs 18,000 crore to nine crore farmers and interacts with a section of them. BJP leaders, from Union ministers to its MPs, MLAs, all elected representatives besides organisational members, will fan out across the country to attend the programme and speak to farmers as well. The event coincides with former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birth anniversary which the BJP observes every year as "good governance day" since it came to power at the Centre in 2014.

The Centre yesterday invited protesting farmer unions again for resumption of the stalled talks and asked them to choose a date of their convenience to end the deadlock over the three agri laws. But the farmer unions alleged that the government's latest letter for talks is nothing but a propaganda against them to create an impression they are not interested in dialogue. The farmers also asked the Centre to put the scrapping of the new farm laws in the agenda to resume the talks.

The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farmer unions protesting at three border points of Delhi for the last 27 days, is likely to hold a meeting today to discuss the Centre's letter and respond to it formally. The agriculture ministry while extending the fresh invite, however, made it clear that it would not be "logical" to include in the agenda any new demand related to minimum support price, saying it was out of the purview of the new farm laws. However, the unions said the MSP cannot be separated from the demand of repealing the contentious laws, asserting the issue of a legal guarantee for it is a key part of their agitation The ministry also reiterated it is ready to find a "logical solution" to the issues raised by protesting farmer unions. (PTI)

A Kolhapur-based businessman used the auspicious occasion of his daughters wedding in Goa to express support for the new farm laws enacted by the Central government. He had kept a separate half-an-hour session on the eve of wedding ceremony of his daughter in a five-star resort in South Goa on Wednesday to explain the importance of the agri-marketing laws, which are facing opposition from a section of farmers who are protesting outside New Delhi. The marriage took place on Thursday. Talking to reporters at the pre-wedding event, he said the occasion was significant as December 23 is also National Farmers Day. I organised this event to address misconceptions that are being spread with reference to the farm laws, the businessman said. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tried to bring revolutionary changes through these new agricultural legislations which will help farmers," he said. Around 150 people had gathered for the event. (PTI)

A group of seven influential US lawmakers, including Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, have written to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, urging him to raise the issue of farmers' protest in India with his Indian counterpart. India has called the remarks by foreign leaders and politicians on protests by farmers as 'ill-informed' and 'unwarranted', asserting that the matter pertains to the internal affairs of a democratic country. 'We have seen some ill-informed comments relating to farmers in India. Such comments are unwarranted, especially when pertaining to the internal affairs of a democratic country,' External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said earlier this month.

This is an issue of particular concern to Sikh Americans linked to Punjab, although it also heavily impacts the Indian Americans belonging to other Indian states, the lawmakers said in their letter to Pompeo dated December 23. 'Many Indian Americans are directly affected as they have family members and ancestral land in Punjab and are concerned for the well-being of their families in India. In view of this serious situation, we urge you to contact your Indian counterpart to reinforce the United States' commitment to the freedom of political speech abroad,' they said.In their letter, the lawmakers said that the US as a nation that is familiar with political protests can offer counsel to India during their current period of social disturbance. 'As national legislators, we respect the right of the government of India to determine national policy, in compliance with existing law. We also acknowledge the rights of those in India and abroad who are currently protesting peacefully against agricultural laws that many Indian farmers see as an attack on their economic security,' the lawmakers said. (PTI)

Thousands of farmers from western Uttar Pradesh gathered in Noida yesterday on the call of the Kisan Sena, a farmers' union supporting the new farm laws, even as the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lok Shakti) which is demanding withdrawal of the legislations dubbed this farmers' faction as 'Jaichand' — after the 12th century ruler came to be known for treason and treachery. The Kisan Sena supporters, which included members from Agra, Mathura, Hathras, Mainpuri, Firozabad, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar, among other districts, remained on the road at the Mahamaya Flyover in Noida during the afternoon before they all returned to their hometowns. "While a majority of us were prohibited entry into Delhi by the police, a 21-member delegation of the union went to the national capital and met with Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar," Kisan Sena's convenor Thakur Gauri Shankar Singh said. He said their demonstration was to apprise Tomar that the farmers union, especially from Punjab and Haryana, protesting at Delhi's borders 'do not represent' all Indian farmers. "Considering the situation after meeting with the minister (Tomar) and talking to our Agra MP (Rajkumar Chahar) we decided to go back to our homes," Singh said. This demonstration in Noida came even as two major farmers' unions — the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhanu) and the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lok Shakti) — are camping at the city's border for over three weeks now to demand the repeal of the three new central farm laws. "The demonstration by farmers union in support of the new farm laws was a flop show and that is why they have returned. Such people are proving to be 'Jaichands' (the 12th century ruler of Kannauj known for his treason and treachery with Prithviraj Chauhan) who are hurting the cause of farmers," BKU (Lok Shakti) spokesperson Shailesh Kumar Giri said. (PTI)

Anurag Thakur: Many farmers have thanked PM Modi for the new agriculture laws. We will double farmers' income by 2022. The government is ready to talk and clear doubts of the farmers who are protesting. A solution can be found only through dialogue.

Farmers protest at Delhi's borders with Haryana at Singhu and Tikri enters 30th day. On Wednesday, farmer unions wrote to the government urging it not to repeat the "meaningless amendments" which they had earlier rejected and to come up with a concrete proposal in writing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 96th birth anniversary. In a tweet, PM Modi says, 'He took the country to unprecedented heights of development. His efforts to build a strong and prosperous India will always be remembered.'

पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री आदरणीय अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी जी को उनकी जन्म-जयंती पर शत-शत नमन। अपने दूरदर्शी नेतृत्व में उन्होंने देश को विकास की अभूतपूर्व ऊंचाइयों पर पहुंचाया। एक सशक्त और समृद्ध भारत के निर्माण के लिए उनके प्रयासों को सदैव स्मरण किया जाएगा।

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 25, 2020

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