Farmers' protest LIVE: Unions say ready for talks, ask govt to choose date

Farmers' protest LIVE: Farmer unions agitating against the three agri laws on Monday asked the govt to fix a date for the next round of talks

6:06 PM

Devendra Fadnavis slams Maharashtra Home Minister for ordering probe into celebrities' tweets on farmers' stir

Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis slammed state Home Minister, Anil Deshmukh for ordering a probe into celebrities' tweets on the ongoing farmers' protests, PTI reported.

 

"Disgusting and highly deplorable! Where is your Marathi pride now? Where is your Maharashtra dharma? We will never find such 'ratnas' (gems) in the entire nation who order probe against Bharat Ratnas who always stand strong in one voice for our nation. Has this Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Government lost all its senses?" Fadnavis said in a tweet.

 

"Actually, now it seems necessary to probe the mental state and stability of the ones who made such demand and of people who ordered a probe against our Bharat Ratnas," he added.

5:46 PM

Farmer union's legal cell writes to UN on farmers' illegal detention

The farm unions' legal cell which is representing farmers facing legal challenges emerging out of the Republic Day violence, has written to the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) on "illegal detention" and suspension of internet at protest sites on the borders of the national capital, IANS report said.

 

Internet has been snapped at Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri protest sites to "maintain public safety and for averting public emergency". Besides this, 127 people have been arrested since the clash between protesting farmers and police during the tractor rally against the three farm laws on January 26.

 

The lawyer collective has now written to India head of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Clear identification of the interrogation officers, memo of arrests, information to family members of those arrested, diary entries, and medical check-up are some of their demands.

5:20 PM

After PM Modi's invite, farmer leaders say ready for talks, ask govt to choose date

Farmer unions agitating against the three agri laws on Monday asked the government to fix a date for the next round of talks, soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged them to end their stir and invited them to resume the dialogue. They, however, objected to Prime Minister Modi's remarks in Rajya Sabha that a new "breed" of agitators called "andolan jivi" has emerged in the country, and said that agitation has an important role in a democracy.

 

Farmer leader Shiv Kumar Kakka, who is a senior member of the Samkyukta Kisan Morcha which is spearheading the ongoing stir, said they are ready for the next round of talks and the government should tell them the date and time of the meeting.

 

"We have never refused to hold talks with the government. Whenever it has called us for dialogue, we held discussions with Union ministers. We are ready for talks with them (government)," Kakka told PTI.

4:46 PM

Sent names of 250,000 Bengal farmers to Centre for PM Kisan scheme: Mamata

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the TMC dispensation for not implementing central schemes in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday told the Assembly that her government has sent to the Centre names of 2.5 lakh farmers who are eligible for benefits under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana.

 

She sought to know why the Union government has not disbursed any cash benefit to the beneficiaries as yet.

 

Banerjee told the House that the state government had received a list of six lakh applicants from the Centre for verification, of which 2.5 lakh names have been sent to the Centre for financial assistance under the central welfare programme. READ ON...

 

4:24 PM

LIVE: Centre complicating issue, says Rakesh Tikait

Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said, "They (Centre) are complicating the matter, when did we say that the MSP system is ending, we only want a law on it."

 

It has been over two months since the farmers have been protesting at Delhi's borders against the three farm laws enacted by the Centre. Modi has appealed to the farmers to end the agitation. The Prime Minister told the Rajya Sabha that the MSP is not going to end and there is an emphasis to modernise the mandi system, IANS reported.

 

Speaking on the farmers' agitation, Modi said many things were discussed about the farmers' movement, but everyone is silent on the main issue of it. The PM said, "I assure the Upper House that the mandis would be modernised. The MSP was, is and will always be in place. More than 80 crore people will continue to get ration at cheap rates. Our Union Agriculture Minister (Narendra Singh Tomar) has discussed it very well."

 

Responding to PM Modi's statement, Tikait said, "We never said that the MSP is going to end rather we want a law on it. The law on MSP will only benefit the farmers. Due to the lack of law on MSP, the traders purchase the produce at half the rate."

3:37 PM

Govt asks Twitter to block 1,178 accounts for farmer stir misinformation

The government has ordered Twitter to block 1,178 accounts with links to Pakistan and Khalistan supporters which were spreading misinformation and provocative content on farmers' protest, sources said.

 

The IT Ministry, on February 4, shared a list of these Twitter accounts that were flagged by security agencies as accounts of Khalistan sympathisers or backed by Pakistan and operating from foreign territories, and causing threat to public order amid the ongoing farmer stir, they said.

 

Many of these accounts were also automated bots that were used for sharing and amplifying misinformation and provocative content on farmers' protests, sources said adding that Twitter has not yet complied with the latest order. READ MORE...

2:49 PM

Business over hunger will not be allowed in India: Rakesh Tikait

Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait says business over hunger will not be allowed in the country, demands law on MSP for crops along with repeal of new contentious agri-marketing laws: Press Trust of India (PTI).

2:41 PM

Cong, CPI-M move adjournment motion notice in LS demanding repeal of farm laws

Congress MPs Manish Tewari, Jasbir Gill and Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP AM Ariff on Monday gave an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha, demanding repealing of three farm laws in view of farmers' agitation, ANI reported. All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MP Saugat Ray also moved adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha over "alleged repression of farmers by Police through barricading and fencing."

 

Meanwhile, Congress MP Manickam Tagore has given an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha over glacial lake burst on Nanda Devi, Uttarakhand.

 

Congress MP Hibi Eden also moved adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha, demanding to give special packages to the tourism sectors, which had suffered a loss due to COVID -19.

1:46 PM

PM Modi says ill words against Sikhs will do no good; asks agitating farmers to withdraw stir

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday slammed those calling agitating Sikh farmers names, saying it won't do the country any good as he went on to appeal to the protesting farmers to withdraw their over two-month-long stir and give the new agriculture reform laws a chance, according to a PTI report.

 

He also slammed the politics over the farm laws, saying opposition parties were mum over the reasons for the agitation. In an oblique reference to agitating Sikhs being called 'Khalistani' terrorists and other names, the Prime Minister said the nation was proud of every Sikh.

 

"India is very proud of the contribution of Sikhs. This is a community that has done so much for the nation. The words and blessings of the Guru Sahibs are precious," he said. "Language used by some for them and attempt to mislead them will never benefit the nation."

1:27 PM

Centre waging war against farmers, Nadda faking love for them: TMC

The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal alleged that while the BJP-led government at the Centre was "waging a war" against farmers protesting the new agriculture laws, saffron party chief J P Nadda was "faking his love" for the ploughmen. Nadda cannot claim to be a friend of the farmers while his government continues to carry out atrocities against the agriculturists in Delhi, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said at a party meeting in Nabadwip in Nadia district. "While they are waging a war against farmers in Delhi, putting nails at the dharna site, putting up barricades disrupting communications, the same BJP is flaunting a pro- farmer image before the elections.

1:10 PM

Be aware of 'Foreign Destructive Ideology': PM in Rajya Sabha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday slammed the narrative against his government on the farmers' issue as he warned the country against the new FDI that now stands for "Foreign Destructive Ideology". He said that the country should not subscribe to this kind of people as these elements have the mentality to jump into each protest whether it be farmers' or lawyers' or students'. The Prime Minister was speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the Motion of Thanks on President's address. Modi said: "A new type of people have propped up in the country they are "Andolan jivi". "Protest is there life-source and they can be spotted in each protest site be it on anything. They cannot live without protest, we have to identify them and protect our nation from them."

A large number of farmers and their supporters gather during the Kisan Mahapanchayat in Shamli on Friday.

1:03 PM

Do not mislead the country: Rakesh Tikait

12:45 PM

Tikait responds to PM Modi: When did we say that MSP is ending?

When did we say that MSP is ending? We said that a law be formed on MSP. If such a law is formed, all the farmers of the country will be benefitted. Right now, there is no law on MSP and the farmers are looted by traders: Rakesh Tikait, Bharatiya Kisan Union

12:24 PM

Families of jawans invited to join farmers' protest

In a fresh development, the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) has decided to call farmers, with pictures of their kin serving in defence and police forces, at the Ghazipur border. This is being done to strengthen the protest and gain momentum with the 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" slogan. According to a senior BKU functionary, "We will see if the authorities continue to issue legal notices to the family members of those serving in defence forces and police. A large section of farmers has their children serving in the police and armed forces." The BKU gradually wants to broad base its ongoing agitation against farm laws by involving families of those working in armed forces.

 

12:19 PM

PM appeals to farmers to end agitation against farm laws

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday made a fervent appeal to protesters to end their agitation against the new farm laws even as he questioned opposition parties for their sudden "U-turn" on the agriculture reforms. The Prime Minister also hit out at those behind the protests, saying a new "breed" of agitators has emerged in the country who cannot live without an agitation and the country should be beware of them. He also said the new FDI (Foreign Destructive Ideology) has emerged in the country and "we need to be more aware to save the country from such ideology". Modi also stressed that India is very proud of the contribution of Sikhs and the language used by some for them will not benefit the country. He alleged that some people are also trying to defame Sikhs.