LIVE: Haryana govt suspends mobile internet services in 17 districts

Farmers' protest LIVE updates: The mobile internet services except voice calls will remain suspended in some Haryana districts with immediate effect until 5 pm on Saturday

Farmers' protest LIVE updates Day 65: Tens of thousands of farmers gathered in Muzaffarnagar town on Friday to attend a mahapanchayat in support of the Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre's new farm laws in Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.

Earlier in the day, Police fired tear gas and resorted to baton charge Friday to break up a clash between farmers and a large group of men claiming to be local residents who hurled stones at each other at the Singhu border, one of the main protest sites against farm laws.

Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi's borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, demanding a rollback of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

The protesting farmers have expressed the apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporations.

However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.

2:36 AM

Govt seeking to 'discredit' farmers, 'crush' their peaceful movement: Danish Ali

BSP MP Kunwar Danish Ali on Friday expressed support to farmer leader Rakesh Tikait and alleged that government is seeking to discredit farmers and crush their peaceful movement.
 

"Spoke to farmer leader Shri @RakeshTikaitBKU and offered him my support. I stand with him and protesting farmers for their legitimate demands. Govt efforts to discredit farmers, branding them as traitors n crush their peaceful movement will never succeed," Ali tweeted.
 

The Delhi Police has registered an FIR against Tikait and others in connection with the violence in the national capital during the farmers' tractor rally on Republic Day.
 

Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi's borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh demanding the rollback of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
 

The protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporations.
 

However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture.
 

2:35 AM

BKU (Lok Shakti) re-launches stir against farm laws, relocates to Ghazipur border

Peeved over developments at the Ghazipur border site of farmers' protest, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lok Shakti) on Friday re-launched its stir over the new farm laws, just a day after it had announced withdrawing its protest in Noida.
 

BKU (Lok Shakti) chief Thakur Sheoraj Singh Bhati called on the union's supporters, who were camping at the Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida, to now reach Ghazipur border, where BKU members are staying put.
 

In a video message, Singh also appealed to BKU (Lok Shakti) supporters in western Uttar Pradesh to reach the farmers' mahapanchayat that was convened in Muzaffarnagar.
 

“Yesterday, an MLA of Ghaziabad had reached Ghazipur protest site along with his armed supporters. This act has distressed the soul of (BKU leader) Rakesh Tikait. An announcement was made regarding his arrest and ending of the protest there, but the MLA vitiated the atmosphere there and Tikait broke down,” Bhati said.
 

“BKU (Lok Shakti) will not tolerate any policy of suppression. The government or administration can take any action but no MLA or public representative can act cruelly with the farmers and BKU (Lok Shakti) will not tolerate this,” he added.
 

Bhati said his faction will stand shoulder to shoulder with Tikait's BKU in the fight against the new contentious farm laws.
 

BKU (Lok Shakti) had been camping at the Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida since December 2, demanding the rollback of the three new farm laws, legalization of the minimum support price for crops and implementation of recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee report.
 

9:31 PM

CRPF DG hails his jawans' patience during farmers' R-Day tractor rally in Delhi

Hailing the CRPF jawans' "patience and restraint" during the farmers' tractor rally in New Delhi on the Republic Day in protest against the Centre's agricultural laws, Director General A P Maheshwari of the paramilitary force on Friday said the "withdrawal" too is also a tactic at times.
 

"It was not a question of defending oneself. We have to be considerate when our own citizens create an odd situation due to some reasons. The force acted with 'dhairya aur sanyam' (patience and restraint),” CRPF Director General Maheshwari told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.
 

“If a situation arises when there are our own people, colleagues and family members, we have to see what alternatives can be adopted," he added.
 

Maheshwari was asked about a viral video in which a mob was seen pushing the CRPF personnel from a bridge in New Delhi on January 26 during farmers' protests and why the CRPF did not defend itself.
 

"We could not have fired because due to it many lives could have been lost. We work in coordination with local police and other agencies and at that moment, patience and restraint were observed,” he said.
 

“It was seen how even after facing losses, the situation could be controlled by the local police and CRPF.

 

9:30 PM

Prez should not have said anything in support of new farm laws during Parliament address: TMC

The Trinamool Congress on Friday said it was not right on the part of President Ram Nath Kovind to support the new agriculture laws, during his address to the joint session of Parliament, despite knowing well that the farming community had been protesting against the legislations".
 

TMC MP Saugata Roy, after a meeting of the party's core committee, stated that the "President should have also mentioned that the violence at the peasants' rally on Republic Day was a manufactured one".
 

"Without disrespecting the President's address, we want to say that when the farming community in the country is up against the farm laws, it was not right on his part to support the laws," Roy said.
 

He added that 19 opposition parties, including the TMC, did not attend the joint session addressed by the President.
 

"That does not mean we do not have respect for the position of the President, but he should have remembered that the farmers' issue is most important. The country's farming community has gone against the central government, as also the Sikhs and Jats who have the highest fighting spirit," he said.

He said the TMC condemns the central government's refusal to repeal the three farm laws.
 

9:11 PM

More farmers to join protest in coming days

Large number of farmers from Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan to join protest in the coming days: Darshan Pal

8:45 PM

Anna Hazare not to protest from tomorrow over various demands related to farmers: ANI

8:26 PM

Red Fort violence: Delhi Police asks nine farmer leaders to join investigation

The Delhi Police on Friday asked nine farmer leaders to join the investigation in connection with the violence at Red Fort on January 26, PTI reported. According to officials, the special investigation team (SIT) of Delhi Police has asked farmer leaders Rakesh Tikait, Pawan Kumar, Raj Kishore Singh, Tajender Singh Virk, Jitender Singh, Trilochan Singh, Gurmukh Singh, Harpreet Singh and Jagtar Singh Bajwa to join the investigation.

 

The notices have been forwarded through whatsapp to them. A police team has also physically visited the tents where they were staying and pasted it there, officials said.

 

A senior police officer said, "We kept waiting for them and contacted their coordinators but we did not receive any response." Thousands of protesting farmers clashed with the police during the tractor parade on January 26. Many of them, driving tractors, reached the Red Fort and entered the monument.

7:57 PM

SP, Congress, BSP lend support to protesting farmers, slam BJP over farm laws

As the farmers' protest at Ghazipur border in Ghaziabad got a new lease of life, the opposition Congress, Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party on Friday rallied support for the movement and slammed the BJP over the contentious farm laws. The size of Bharatiya Kisan Union protesters camping at the Ghazipur border with Delhi had come down to around 500 Thursday night following an ultimatum given by the local administration to vacate the site, as additional security force personnel were deployed there, PTI reported.

 

However, the crowd increased manifold overnight and continued during the day as more protesters joined the stir from western UP on the call of BKU leaders.

 

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav also threw his party's weight behind the farmers' movement and hit out at the BJP for "torturing" the peasants and levelling false accusations against them.

7:20 PM

Nine farmers arrested for attacking cop at Burari protest site

The Delhi Police has arrested nine farmers for attacking one of its personnel at the Burari protest site, PTI reported on Friday. Several farmers have been camping at DDA ground in Burari on the outskirts of the national capital since November-end against the Centre's three agri laws.

 

At around 7.30 pm on Thursday, some protesters came out and tried to move towards Red Fort, however, they were stopped by assistant sub-inspector Harbans Lal deployed at the main entry gate.

 

The farmers then assaulted the policeman and tore his uniform, a senior police officer said. A case was registered under relevant sections of the IPC at the Mukherjee Nagar Police Station against nine people, police said.

6:57 PM

Grand Alliance to organise human chain in Bihar against farm laws

The opposition Grand Alliance in Bihar on Friday declared it will organise a human chain across the state on Saturday to express solidarity with the farmers agitating against the farm laws, according to PTI report.

 

Making the announcement at a press conference here,leader of the opposition Tejashwi Yadav trained his guns at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, questioning his "silence" on the legislations which "hold out the spectre of reducing farmers to beggars".

 

"We are baffled by the chief ministers reluctance to state where he stands on the issue. Does he think the agitating farmers are justified in hitting the streets or does he share the BJPs position that they are committing a mistake?......it is hard to believe that Nitish Kumar has his roots in the socialist movement", Yadav fumed.

6:31 PM

Farmers gather in Muzaffarnagar to attend mahapanchayat in support of BKU-led protest in Ghazipur

Thousands of farmers gather in Muzaffarnagar to attend mahapanchayat in support of BKU-led protest in Ghazipur on Delhi-UP border against farm laws: Press Trust of India.

6:27 PM

Haryana govt orders suspension of mobile internet services in 14 more districts

The Haryana government on Friday decided to suspend mobile internet services in 14 more districts of the state till 5 pm of January 30 to prevent any disturbance of peace and public order in the wake of the farmers' agitation against the three agriculture laws, PTI reported.

 

The mobile internet services except voice calls will remain suspended with immediate effect until 5 pm on Saturday in districts of Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Kaithal, Panipat, Hisar, Jind, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Fatehabad, Rewari and Sirsa districts, an order issued by the Home Department said.

 

On Tuesday, the government had ordered suspension of mobile internet services in Sonipat, Jhajjar and Palwal districts "to prevent disturbance of peace and public order" after a violent farmers' protest rocked neighbouring Delhi. The services will remain suspended in these three districts too until 5 pm on Saturday, as per the order.

 

Thousands of protesting farmers had clashed with the police during the tractor rally in Delhi called by farmer unions on January 26 to highlight their demand for the repeal of the Centre's three farm laws.

6:26 PM

Government has supended Internet in whole of Haryana

6:06 PM

If not resolved, farmers' agitation will spread: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the only solution to the farmers' issue was throwing the new agri laws in the "waste paper basket" and warned that if not resolved, the agitation will spread to other parts of the country. In a no-holds-barred attack at the Centre, Gandhi accused the government of trying to intimidate and discredit the farmers, using the National Investigation Agency, PTI report said.

 

"It is very obvious that the farmers are very agitated because the government is destroying their livelihood. It is destroying the livelihood of our labourers and it is going to give the middle class a shock in the coming times because the prices of food are going to skyrocket," the former Congress chief said at a press conference.

 

"What is being done to the farmers is absolutely criminal. You (government) are beating them, you are threatening them, you are bullying them, you are trying to discredit them," he said.

 

The government needs to talk to the farmers and provide a solution to them, he said.

6:01 PM

Government trying to discredit farmers, says Rahul Gandhi

Amid the ongoing farmers' agitation and simmering tensions, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the government is trying to discredit farmers by all means and the party stands with farmers in support of the agitation, IANS reported. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Friday, Gandhi said: "You are trying to discredit farmers and the government should talk to them. The only way is to repeal the[farm] laws. We need conversation and solution to this problem."

 

The Congress leader said that this is nation's voice and the government will not be able to suppress the farmers movement that is only likely to spread.

 

Rahul Gandhi alleged that the new farm laws will dismantle the Mandi system and will allow big businessmen to hoard which will affect the middle class and people from weaker sections of society. Gandhi said,"This is biggest transfer of wealth from the largest number to the smallest number of people."