FirstUp: Farmers meet with ministers, India Vs England in Rajkot … The big news today

Valentine’s Day is over. It is Thursday (15 February) and a number of developments are likely to occur throughout the day. Farmer leaders will meet Union ministers to discuss their several demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for all crops. Amid the ongoing “Delhi Chalo” march of the farmers, the Bharatiya Kisan Union-Ugrahan (BKU-Ugrahan) farm union has planned to block the railway tracks in Punjab today. Here’s this and much more in our roundup of the important stories expected to take place during the day. Farmer leaders’ meet with Union ministers Union agriculture minister Arjun Munda and Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai will meet representatives of the protesting farmers in Chandigarh in the evening at 5 pm. This comes after the farmer leaders at the forefront of the Delhi Chalo march said they were open to talks with the Central ministers over their demands. On Wednesday, they held a virtual meeting with representatives of central government. “A long discussion was held (on various issues) today. But our priority (in the meeting) was that normalcy should be restored (along state borders). We have received a letter from the Central government calling for a meeting to be held (in Chandigarh) tomorrow (15 February),” Jagjit Singh Dallewal, president of the Punjab-based Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Sidhupur farm union, told the media after the meeting. Another farm leader said protestors will not try to push their way through the barricades at various Delhi borders until the meeting. [caption id=“attachment_13728482” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Police officers stand guards as barricades are erected on a national highway to stop farmers, who are marching towards New Delhi to press for the better crop prices promised to them in 2021, at the Singhu border in New Delhi, 13 February 2024. Reuters[/caption] Farmers of over 200 unions from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh hit the roads to press the Centre for their several demands on Tuesday after the second meeting between farmer leaders and Union ministers held on Monday evening resulted in a stalemate. PM Modi in Qatar PM Narendra Modi will meet the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and hold talks to extend bilateral cooperation. After his two-day visit to the UAE, the PM flew to Qatar. He arrived at the capital Doha on Wednesday night and met his counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Modi’s visit comes days after Qatar released eight Indian Navy veterans who were imprisoned in the country over alleged espionage charges. Farmer union to block rail track in Punjab The Bharatiya Kisan Union-Ugrahan (BKU-Ugrahan) will block the railway tracks across 10 locations in Punjab from 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm to express solidarity with the farmers marching towards Delhi. The farmers union said it will block road and rail traffic against the “dictatorial attitude” of the Haryana government. “This protest is against the repression by the Haryana government against the farmers of a few unions who had to go to Delhi as part of their Dilli Chalo protest call,” BKU (Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan told the media. Allahabad HC to hear Gyanvapi case The Allahabad High Court will hear a plea challenging the Varanasi district court’s order allowing prayers in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi. The Varanasi court had said in its 31 January order: “District Magistrate, Varanasi/Receiver is being directed to get puja and raag bhog done by a priest, designated by the plaintiff and Kashi Vishwanath Trust, of idols in the cellar to the south, which is disputed, of building situated on settlement plot no. 9130, police station Chowk, District Varanasi. For this, suitable arrangements must be made with iron barricading and other things within seven days.” [caption id=“attachment_13728492” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A priest performs prayers in the basement of Gyanvapi mosque on 31 January night after court orders. PTI File Photo[/caption] The Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, which manages the Gyanvapi mosque, had approached the Allahabad High Court against the order on 2 February. On Monday, the high court deferred the matter to 15 February. India Vs England in Rajkot India will face England in the third chapter of the five-match Test series in Rajkot from today. Currently, the series is poised at 1-1 after England stunned India in the series opener at Hyderabad. India made a comeback in Vizag. Now, it remains to be seen who will gain the edge in Rajkot over the next five days. Berlin International Film Festival to begin The 74th Berlin International Film Festival will kick off today. The festival, which will run till 25 February, will begin with the world premiere of Small Things Like These starring Cillian Murphy. Israel’s war with Hamas is likely to be one of the topics to come up at Berlinale. Festival directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian previously said their aim was for “open dialogue” surrounding the war.