Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday slammed the Centre over handling a farmers protest in the national capital.

In a scathing attack, Stalin accused the central government of creating a war-like situation in Delhi and other states. Blaming the Centre, he asked the question, who is the real terrorist, is it the government or the farmers? he charged.

There are barricades, spike strips to stop the farmers’ vehicles, and deployment of several security forces. The TN CM said the BJP has made the situation worse by suppressing the protest by farmers for their livelihood.

The CM further stated that the Modi-led BJP government has created an environment worse than a war zone to suppress the farmers’ struggle.

Stalin added that when the farmers protested against the three farm laws in 2020-2021, the union government portrayed them as terrorists. The BJP could not suppress their struggle and later the farm laws were withdrawn. Since then the government has not announced any plan for improving the lives of the farmers.

Stalin also asked the people of Tamil Nadu to teach a lesson to the anti-farmer BJP and AIADMK, which had supported the anti-farmer bills brought by the BJP in Parliament.

Stalin urged DMK cadres to expose BJP’s and AIADMK’s anti-farmer, anti-people activities in a series of public meetings to be launched by DMK from 16 February.

Earlier in the day, Union Ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal, and Nityanand Rai held a talk via video conference with the protesting farmer union representatives today.
Following the failure of previous discussions between the two parties with no outcomes, farmers began their protest march on Tuesday, February 13.

A nationwide strike has been called on February 16, according to Harmeet Singh Kadian of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Kadian) and the Punjab Chapter of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM).

Meanwhile, security personnel at the Punjab-Haryana border used tear gas to scatter farmers who were trying to break through barricades. In response, a few protesters threw stones.

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the electoral bonds scheme and called it unconstitutional. A five-judge constitutional bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud held that the scheme violates the Right to Information and Article (19)(1)(a).

The apex court delivered a unanimous verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the legality of the Centre’s electoral bonds scheme, allowing anonymous funding to political parties. The court directed the authorised bank to cease issuing electoral bonds with immediate effect.

Stating that information about the funding of political parties is essential for electoral choices, the apex court noted that the political parties are relevant units in the electoral process.

The SC further noted that the central government’s justification of monitoring black money through electoral bonds is not justified.

The petitioners have not only challenged the constitutionality of the electoral bonds scheme but also asked the court to declare all political parties as public offices. This would bring them under the ambit of the Right to Information Act and compel them to disclose their income and expenditure.

During the hearing, the Supreme Court emphasised the importance of reducing cash transactions involved in the electoral process.

The five-judge bench, consisting of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices Sanjeev Khanna, B R Gavai, J B Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, had reserved their verdict on this matter on November 2 last year.

The electoral bonds scheme was first announced in the 2017 Union Budget speech and then the scheme was notified by the government in January 2018. With a motive to bring transparency in political funding, the electoral bonds scheme was pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties.

The apex court, in 2019, had declined to stay the scheme and made it clear that it would accord an in-depth hearing on the four petitions, including those filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The apex court, had on October 31 last year, commenced hearing on the four petitions.

The Delhi Chalo march continues today, and thousands of farmers have vowed to continue their protest. The Centre and farmer leaders are also preparing for a third round of discussions.

Union Ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal, and Nityanand Rai are scheduled to have a video conference with the protesting farmer union representatives today.
Following the failure of previous discussions between the two parties with no outcomes, farmers began their protest march on Tuesday, February 13.

According to a report, senior Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Arjun Munda met on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing farmer protests and associated matters. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, a former agriculture minister, and Munda, who presently governs the Agriculture Ministry and has previously engaged in meetings with farmer groups, discussed a range of farmer concerns during the meeting, the specifics of which have not yet been made public.

A nationwide strike is scheduled for February 16, according to Harmeet Singh Kadian of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Kadian) and the Punjab Chapter of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM). In addition, there will be protests on February 15 from 11 AM to 2 PM at toll plazas throughout Punjab.

Meanwhile, security personnel at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana used tear gas to scatter farmers who were trying to break through barricades. In response, a few protesters threw stones. A police drone was observing the protests, so a few farmers tried to bring it down with kites.

Farmers were unable to cross the border between Data Singhwala and Khanauri on their tractor-trolleys because Haryana Police placed obstacles along the route. On the first day of the Delhi Chalo march, there were reported fights and injuries, but the protests continued to protest.

The Delhi Police advised commuters to look for alternate routes and issued an alert about excessive traffic on the DND Flyway as a result of security checks. To halt the farmers’ approach, barricades, concrete blocks, iron nails, and container walls have been erected at strategic locations throughout Delhi, including Ghazipur, Singhu, and Tikri.