LIVE: 50 farmers have died so far during the agitation, says union leader

Farmers' protest LIVE updates: The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of the three laws and legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP). Stay tuned for latest updates

3:42 PM

Shun arrogance of power and withdraw 3 farm laws: Sonia Gandhi

Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi has accused the Modi government of "arrogance", asking it to shun its arrogance of power, follow the 'raj dharma', and withdraw the three "black" farm laws. "There is still time for the Modi government to come out of arrogance of power and withdraw the three new central farm laws to end the farmers agitation. This is 'raj dharma' (righteous conduct of ruler) and a real tribute to the departed souls of farmers who have died since the beginning of the protest," she said in a statement.

"Since Independence, it is for the first time that an arrogant government has come to power. It is not even looking at the pain and sufferings of farmers, forget about the common man," she claimed. The Congress chief said that she and the countrymen were distressed by seeing the fate of the 'annadatas' in chilly and rainy weather due to government apathy. More than 50 farmers have lost their lives, some due to suicide, due to government's conduct, she added.

3:17 PM

Congress flays govt for 'apathy' towards protesting farmers

Even as farmers continued to protest on the Delhi borders for the 39th day on Sunday, the Congress acccused the Union government of showing "apathy" towards 'annadatas' braving cold and rain to save their dignity. "The one word the BJP-led government has justified in the last 39 days is 'apathy'. One one hand, there is complete lack of sensitivity towards the plight of protesting farmers and their demands and, on the other hand, close friends of this government are receiving complete empathy and blessings for expanding their dominance in all spheres of business," Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh told the media here.

He said that while farmers received only false promises after their protest, friends of this government were getting contracts after contracts to fill their pockets. "It is a matter of serious concern as all this is happening as farmers continue to protest," he added. The Congress spokesperson alleged that Adani Agri Logistics Limited (AALL) was awarded an exclusive service agreement with the Food Corporation of India for storage of foodgrains, while the FCI had not even started lifting rice stocks yet in Chhatisgarh.

He claimed that despite a pre-intimation by the central agency to procure 60 lakh metric tonnes of rice under the central pool for the kharif season, Chhattisgarh has not received the final consent yet. "The Chhattisgarh government started procurement on December 1, and has procured 47 lakh tonnes from 12 lakh farmers so far. But the state is yet to receive consent from the government of India, despite several requests on phone. This will impact close to 21.52 lakh farmers," Vallabh added.

3:10 PM

Rains, waterlogging cause inconvenience to farmers protesting at Delhi borders

Waterlogged tents, soaked firewood and blankets, and cold conditions -- farmers camping at Delhi borders in protest against new farm laws had a difficult morning on Sunday due to overnight rains. The continuous downpour led to waterlogging at agitation venues and waterproof tents did not help much, according to the protesters. Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar, who is a member of Sankyukt Kisan Morcha, said farmers have waterproof tents but they cannot protect them from biting cold and waterlogging.

"The situation is very bad at protest sites due to rain which has caused waterlogging. There is so much cold after the rains, but the government is not able to see our misery," he said.  Gurwinder Singh, who is camping at Singhu Border, said there is waterlogging at some places as civic facilities are not up to the mark but asserted that the weather will not dampen the spirit of farmers who have been protesting for over a month. "Despite facing several problems, we will not move from here until our demands are met," he said.

According to a MeT Department official, heavy rainfall was reported in areas across Delhi and minimum temperatures have increased due to clouding and easterly winds.

12:35 PM

Farmers' protest continues despite rain, cold wave

Despite rains and the ongoing cold wave across North India, farmers agitating against the Centre's farm laws stood strong at the borders of the national capital and continued their protest for the 37th day on Sunday.

"We are living on the streets in such harsh weather conditions away from our family. We're hopeful that the government will accept our demands tomorrow," a protesting farmer at the Gazipur (Delhi-UP) border told ANI.

Farmers were seen huddled together under blankets inside their vehicles to keep warm. Tents were set up with waterproof tarpaulin sheets as protection from the rain.

Another round of talks between the Union government and the farmers' unions took place on Wednesday. While a consensus was reached on issues related to the environment and Electricity Act, the deadlock continued on the two main demands, legal assurance on Minimum Support Price (MSP) and complete rollback of the three farm laws.

The next round of talks will take place on January 4.

12:13 PM

Chilla, Gazipur borders closed, Delhi Traffic Police urges commuters to take alternative routes

In view of the ongoing farmers' agitation at the gates of the national capital, the Delhi Traffic Police on Sunday appealed to citizens to take alternative routes as Chilla and Gazipur borders remained closed due to the protests.

"Traffic Alert The Chilla & Ghazipur Borders are closed for traffic coming from Noida & Ghaziabad to Delhi because of farmer protests. Please take alternate route for coming to Delhi via Anand Vihar, DND, Apsara, Bhopra & Loni Borders," Delhi Traffic Police wrote on Twitter.

The police said that the following borders are open to Haryana -- Jharoda, Daurala, Kapashera, Badusarai, Rajokri NH 8, Bijwasan/Bajghera, Palam Vihar, and Dundahera with COVID-19 precautions.

11:15 AM

Farmers are 'satyagrahis', will take rights from govt: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday slammed the government on the agitation by farmers, whom he equated with 'satyagrahis' who will take their rights from the government.

"The country is facing a tragedy like Champaran; then, the British were Company Bahadur, and now the friends of PM are Company Bahadur," he tweeted in Hindi.

"But the agitating farmers are 'satyagrahis'; they will take their rights," he added.

Satyagraha denotes a policy of passive political resistance, especially that advocated by Mahatma Gandhi against the British rule in India.

11:06 AM

Heavy rains add to woes of farmers protesting at Delhi borders

Overnight rains in the national capital added to miseries of farmers who have been camping on the borders of Delhi for over a month in protest against new farm laws, with the continuous downpour leading to waterlogging at agitation venues.

Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar, who is a member of Sankyukt Kisan Morcha, said on Sunday that farmers have waterproof tents but they cannot protect them from biting cold and waterlogging.

"The situation is very bad at protest sites due to rain which has caused waterlogging. There is so much cold after the rains, but the government is not able to see our misery," he said.

10:59 AM

Rain fury

9:01 AM

Farmers continue to hold sit-in protest at Ghazipur (Delhi-UP border)

7:48 AM

Karnataka govt to assist farmers double their income, says CM Yediyurappa

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Saturday said that the state government is working towards "enabling farmers to double their income" as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his inaugural address at the Horticulture Mela organised by the University of Horticulture, Bagalkote, Yediyurappa said that government intends to introduce new technologies in value addition, processing, storage and packaging of horticulture produce in collaboration with Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) and Indian Institute of Horticulture. He also assured that the government would take all necessary steps to consider Horticulture as an industry.

6:33 AM

Punjab CM could have prevented the farm laws from being passed: AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday said Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh could have prevented the farm laws from being passed in Parliament if he wanted but did not do so. AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the Punjab Chief Minister is trying to protect his son from the Enforcement Directorate lens and Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also helping the Punjab CM in his tactics."

12:32 AM

Punjab farmers send legal notices to 3 BJP leaders for defaming their agitation

Punjab-based farmers have sent legal notices to Union Minister Giriraj Singh, Gujarat Deputy CM Nitin Patel and BJP leader Ram Madhav for their alleged defamatory/ derogatory statement regarding ongoing agitation at various Delhi borders against the agriculture laws. Farmers have sent the notices seeking an unconditional apology and unambiguous withdrawal of the alleged defamatory and derogatory statements made by the three leaders, ANI reported.

 

Statements by several political leaders have not issued in good faith or with responsibility, but mala fide intent and for oblique motives to further vested interests and defame the protesting farmers, read the notice.

 

A farmer from Amritsar, Jaskaran Singh Bandesha through notice to Giriraj Singh stated that farmers relentlessly giving their blood and sweat for the entire nation, and are widely considered to be the backbone of the entire country's economy and the agricultural system.

10:13 PM

Congress leaders in Rajasthan to protest against farm laws tomorrow

Several leaders from Rajasthan Congress including Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, party's state unit chief Govind Singh Dotasara, former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot will stage a protest at Jaipur's Shaheed Smarak demanding the repeal of new agriculture laws. Meanwhile, a number of farmers are protesting at different sites in the state against the contentious Acts.

 

Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) has also withdrawn support from the NDA against these acts.

 

Farmers have been protesting at different borders of the national capital for over a month against 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.

8:42 PM

Farmer impasse likely to be resolved on Monday

After the last meeting of the government and farmers led to positivity and breaking of bread together, it appears that the over month-long deadlock may be resolved on Monday. Sources on both sides have indicated a thaw with a meeting ground on some of the most contentious issues emerging. The government may well be ready to offer amendments to the MSP and APMC issues in writing, IANS reported.

 

As per the government and farmer sources, Monday will see a big breakthrough after more than six rounds of talks between the two parties have been held. The sticking points of MSP being retained and APMC may well see a resolution.

 

In addition, at the 'mandis', the private players who are procuring will not be able to procure below the MSP. The dispute redressal system between the private players and the farmers will not be done by the SDM anymore. These have been some of the major demands of the farmers. Farmers do not want to be dragged out of their workplaces to run around needlessly to sort out issues.

7:54 PM

75-year-old farmer protesting against agri laws kills self at Uttar Pradesh-Delhi border

A 75-year-old farmer protesting against the Centre's new agri laws allegedly hanged himself at the Uttar Pradesh-Delhi border in Ghazipur on Saturday morning. Sardar Kashmir Singh, a native of Bilaspur in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur district, hanged himself in a mobile toilet using a rope, police said. Deputy Superintendent of Police of Indirapuram Anshu Jain told PTI that a suicide note written in Gurumukhi was found on him.

 

Singh wrote in the suicide note that the government must repeal these farm laws as these are against the interests of farmers, according to a leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU).

 

The BKU and several other farmer unions have been spearheading the protest against the legislations at various border points of Delhi for over a month now. In the purported suicide note, Singh expressed anguish that though some people from Punjab died during the agitation, no one from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand has sacrificed his life for the cause.