Farmers' Protest Updates: Centre invites farmers' unions for next round of talks at Vigyan Bhawan, asks them to choose date

Centre invites farmers’ unions for next round of talks, asks them to choose date

Centre writes to protesting farmers’ unions inviting them for next round of talks, asks them to choose date, reported news agency PTI. As per the Indian Express  , the Union government has invited representatives of the agitating farmers for a meeting at Delhi’s Vidyan Bhawan, as per their convenience. 

In a letter to the union leaders, Agriculture Ministry Joint Secretary Vivek Aggarwal said, “I request those previously invited protesting union leaders to provide details of their remaining concerns and doubts and suggest a date as per convenience for next round of talks.” He said the Centre is making all efforts to find appropriate solution to resolve all the issues raised by the farmers with an open mind.

Congress question’s Modi’s silence over farmers’ agitation

The Congress questioned the “silence” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the ongoing farmers’ protests against the Centre’s new farm laws and asked why he had not yet condoled the demise of 33 protesters. Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed said 33 farmers have lost their lives during the ongoing agitation and the agitating farmer unions are observing ‘Shradhanjali Diwas’ on Sunday. The Congress is also observing the day.

“Why is our Pradhan Mantri quiet? Why is Shri Amit Shah quiet and why is Yogi Adityanath quiet? Why hasn’t PM Modi said a single word? Why is our Prime Minister ‘maun’ (silent)? Our ‘annadatas’ are sitting at the Delhi border along with their wives and children in one of the coldest winters Delhi is experiencing but our Home minister Amit Shah has no time to see them but has time to go to Bengal,” she told reporters. She asked why he is not talking to ‘annadatas’ and alleged that the callousness of the government is on full display as lakhs of farmers are waiting for justice.

Harish Rawat joins protest at Ghazipur border

Senior Congress leader Harish Rawat joined farmers protesting against the Centre’s agricultural reform laws at the Ghazipur border on Sunday and demanded the government take back the “anti-farmer” legislations. The former Uttarakhand chief minister also paid homage to farmers who have died during the agitation. AICC member Narendra Rathi said Rawat was accompanied by several Congress office-bearers and workers.

“I am the son of a farmer and very well understand the problems of farmers. I demand that the central government withdraw the three anti-farmer agricultural laws,” Rawat said. He paid tributes to farmers who lost their lives during the protest due to different reasons including heart attack.

PTI

Hind Mazdoor Kisan Samiti extends support to farm laws

As the farmers’ protest against three farm laws entered the 25th day, yet another peasants’ body from western Uttar Pradesh met Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday to extend support to the legislations. The Hind Mazdoor Kisan Samiti (HMKS) is the seventh group of farmers that has extended support to the laws in the last two weeks. The previous groups were from Haryana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. In a representation submitted to Tomar, HMKS secretary Satish said the association fully supports the laws that are in the interest of the farming community and will end farmers’ exploitation at the hands of middlemen. “We urge the government to consider some amendments to ensure that the MSP procurement continues, farmers have the freedom to sell their produce within and outside mandis and that contract-farming should be on crops, not on farm land,” Satish said.

Delhi: Members of Hind Mazdoor Kisan Samiti submitted a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, to extend their support the three farm laws. https://t.co/IZapv2v5GW pic.twitter.com/eyPpLxuAva

— ANI (@ANI) December 20, 2020

Kisan Ekta Morcha’s FB page unpublished, alleges Yogendra Yadav

Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav alleged that the Facebook page of Kisan Ekta Morcha, which as per NDTV , is sone the biggest pages being used for the farmers agitation with over seven lakh followers, was unpublished on Sunday. The page has now been restored.

“In midst of a Facebook Live I was doing from Kisan Ekta Morcha’s page, we get a notification that the FB page has been unpublished. There must be something about farmers that this govt is particularly scared of & something about this govt that Facebook is particularly scared of,” Yadav said, while sharing a screenshot of the page. 

In midst of a Facebook Live I was doing from Kisan Ekta Morcha's page, we get a notification that the FB page has been unpublished.

There must be something about farmers that this govt is particularly scared of & something about this govt that Facebook is particularly scared of https://t.co/yYCZu6r3UR pic.twitter.com/xjnpS7nRRi

— Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) December 20, 2020

Opposition parties fuelling protests, alleges BJP’s Arun Singh

Amid protests by farmers on Delhi borders against the Centre’s new farm laws, BJP national general secretary Arun Singh said on Sunday that majority of farmers in the country support Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the legislations.  If a survey is conducted in the country, 99.9 percent farmers will be found in support of the prime minister, Singh claimed at a ‘kisan chaupal’ (farmers’ meet) at Gharoli village in east Delhi’s Mayur Vihar area. The meet was organised by the party’s Delhi unit in support of the farm laws. “Opposition parties, including the Congress and the AAP, lose no chance to indulge in conspiracy and instigate people at the slightest opportunity and they are doing the same regarding the farm laws,” Singh said.

Samajwadi Party to campaign in UP against ‘anti-farmer policies’ of BJP govts on 25 Dec 

The Samajwadi Party will conduct a special drive on 25 December when its leaders will go to villages in Uttar Pradesh and aware people about the “anti-farmer policies” of the BJP-led governments. In a press statement issued on Sunday, the party’s chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said SP leaders will go to villages and hold ‘chaupal’ (meeting) with farmers. The party’s MPs and MLAs will lead the ‘Samajwadi Kisan Ghera’ campaign, he said.

Chaudhary alleged that the BJP governments at the Centre and in the state are hell bent on destroying farmers. “It is an irony that ‘annadata’ (farmers) are shivering in the cold and want to talk, but the prime minister is doing his ‘mann ki baat’,” he said, referring to the protests by farmers on Delhi’s borders against the Centre’s three new farm laws. 

PTI

Farmers to intensify stir

Leaders of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha said they would reach out to the NDA constituents, appealing to them to compel the BJP to withdraw the three legislations and also asked people to clang utensils on 27 December during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Mann Ki Baat” radio address as a mark of protest, reported The Hindu.  They also called for demonstrations and rallies by Indians living abroad over the weekend in support of the agitation.

Centre asking questions over foreign donations: BKU (Ekta Ugrahan)

Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), one of Punjab’s largest farmer organisations protesting against the recent farm laws, on Sunday said it has been asked by a central agency to submit its registration details which allow it to receive foreign funds. The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) stipulates mandatory registration of any outfit receiving foreign fund. A department under the centre has sent an email which we received through our bank’s branch in Punjab. In the e-mail, it was stated that we should give registration details in respect of these donations from abroad otherwise they will be sent back,  BKU general secretary Sukhdev Singh said.  The bank manager showed me the email which has been sent by the Forex Department, he said.

Qestioning the timing of the Centre’s demand, Singh said, “It is quite clear that the agitation against the farm laws is against the Centre and they will try to create all hurdles they can in that. They are using all tactics as their sole purpose is to defeat the agitation.”

PTI

Farmers to observe day long relay hunger strike tomorrow, says Yogendra Yadav

“Farmers will begin a day-long relay hunger strike on Monday at all sites of protest against the new agri laws. It will be started by a team of 11 members at protests sites here,” Swaraj India Chief Yogendra Yadav said at a press conference at the Singhu border. He also urged people demonstrating against the laws across the country to observe a day-long hunger strike at their respective protest sites.Announcing the next move, farmer leader Jagjeet Singh Dalewala said farmers will halt toll collection on highways in Haryana from 25 to 27 December. Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, who was also part of the press conference along with Yadav and Dalewala, said that farmers protesting the new agri laws will celebrate Kisan Diwas on 23 December and “we request people to not cook lunch for a day”

PTI

Punjab farmer dies by suicide

A 22-year-old Punjab farmer, who returned from a protest site near Delhi border, has allegedly died by suicide after consuming some poisonous substance, the police said on Sunday.Gurlabh Singh, a resident of Dayalpura Mirza village of Bathinda district, had been part of the protest near the Delhi border. He had returned to his village on Friday, they said. The police said he consumed some poisonous substance on Saturday at his home. He was taken to the nearest hospital where he was declared brought dead. The reason behind the suicide was yet to be ascertained, the police added.
 

PTI

Tomar may meet agitating farmers on Monday or Tuesday: Amit Shah

 Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar is likely to meet protesting farmers on Monday or Tuesday to discuss their demands, news agency PTI quotes Home Minister Amit Shah as saying.“I am not exactly aware of the timing but Tomar is likely to meet the representatives of farmers tomorrow or the day after to discuss their demands,” Shah told a press conference.

Several rounds of talks with farmers’ representatives have failed to break the deadlock. Farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting against the Centre’s three new farm laws at the borders of the National Capital for the past 25 days.

Farmers at Ghazipur border set up ‘Neki ki divar’ for protesters

It was an ordinary roadside wall of brick and mortar till a day ago, but now it is called the “Neki ki divar” (wall of goodness).From clothes to toiletries to medicines, the protesters who are continuing their sit-in at Delhi’s Ghazipur border against the Centre’s new agri laws can get these things by writing their needs on this wall.

“We have set up a ‘Neki ki divar’ today. The idea is to ensure all our farmer brothers and sisters are well equipped to be a part of the protest and keep themselves warm in Delhi’s harsh weather,” Survinder Kisan, one of the protesters at Ghazipur border, said. Two kiosks have been attached to the roadside wall at the protest site.  “At one place people can leave what they want to donate and the other side is for protesters who can collect things as per their needs from the existing stock,” he said. “If what they need is not available, they can write it on the wall and it will be provided to them,” Kisan said.  Space has been left on the wall and chalks have been kept, so that people can leave messages about their needs, he said, adding a register will also be maintained. 

PTI

BKU urges people to skip one meal in solidarity with farmers on Kisan Diwas

Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday said that Kisan Diwas is scheduled to be celebrated on 23 December. “I would urge people to skip a meal on that day,” he said.

Puducherry CM pays tribute to deceased farmers

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy and his cabinet colleagues on Sunday paid homage to the farmers who died during the ongoing agitations in Delhi
and other parts of the country against the three farm laws introduced by the Centre recently.

Addressing media after paying homage to the portraits of the deceased, he said the Centre should roll back the three ‘black Acts’ and accede to the demands of agitating farmers that there should be unconditional scrapping of the legislation.

Jharkhand farmer groups pay tribute to deceased farmers in Delhi protest

Farmer groups on Sunday conducted a rally in Ranchi paying homage to their counterparts in Delhi, who lost their lives during ongoing farmers’ agitation. “We’ve come to pay tribute to 18 farmers who died during the agitation in Delhi. We support the protest,” a farmer was quoted as saying by ANI.

Doctors set up two-day eye-examination camp Singhu border

A team of nine doctors from Punjab’s Garhshankar set up a two-day medical camp at the Singhu border here on Sunday to attend to the protesting farmers who are suffering from eye-related problems. 

On their fourth visit to the protest site, a group of doctors, including ophthalmologists, physiotherapists and general physicians, arrived at the Singhu border on Saturday evening after attending to their duties at their respective workplaces in Garhshankar.

Due to the excessive cold, dust and pollution, many protesting farmers, who have been staying put at the Singhu border for nearly a month now, have been complaining of the dry-eye syndrome, watery eyes and other eye-related problems.

Centre is ‘delaying matter unnecessarily’, say farmer leaders

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Manjit Singh Rai was quoted as saying on Sunday that the farmer unions, protesting against the three farm laws brought by the Centre, are “not seeing any pragmatic changes from government’s side”. 

“The government is delaying our matter unnecessarily. They should have repealed the laws by now and send the farmers back to their homes. Although the government has stated that before the new year begins there would be a solution, however pragmatically speaking, we are not seeing anything hopeful or even close to that," he said.

Burari protesters take out procession in tribute of farmers who died

The Times of India reported that farmers protesting at the Nirankari Samagam ground in Delhi’s Burari took part in a “procession to pay tribute to those who lost their lives during ongoing farmers’ agitation”.

Narendra Modi to speak to UP farmers on 25 Dec

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with farmers  on the birth anniversary of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 25 December, the BJP said, adding that the party will hold kisan samvad at over 2,500 places in Uttar Pradesh. In a statement issued on Saturday, the party said it has intensified its preparations for it. 

UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh and party leader Radha Mohan Singh held a virtual meeting in this regard with party office-bearers from parts of the state. Radha Mohan Singh said the Narendra Modi-led government is dedicated to welfare of the poor and farmers.  

“Had the amount of welfare done by the Modi Government been done in the past, the condition of farmers would have been better,” Singh said.  He accused the opposition parties of spreading lies regarding the new farm laws.

Protest not affiliated to any political party: Farmers write to Modi, Tomar

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee on Saturday wrote letters addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar where it asserted the ongoing farmers’ protests are not affiliated to any political party.

 In separate letters in Hindi to Modi and Tomar, the AIKSCC said that the government is wrong in assuming that the farmers’ agitation against the three farm laws is being engineered by opposition parties.

It comes a day after the prime minister accused the opposition parties of misleading farmers over the three farm laws.

“The truth is that the farmers’ agitation has forced political parties to change their views and your (PM’s) claim that political parties fuelled it (protest) is wrong, “AIKSCC, which is one of around 40 unions protesting at several Delhi border points for the 23 last days, said in its letter to the prime minister.

Sanjay Raut says Parliament’s Winter Session cancelled to avoid debate on protest

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday claimed the winter session of Parliament was cancelled to avoid a debate on the ongoing farmers’ protest against the Centre’s new farm laws. In his weekly column ‘Rokhthok’ in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, Raut, “The winter session of Parliament has been cancelled so that there can be no debate on the ongoing farmers’ protest near Delhi.”

Rahul Gandhi says farmers’ ‘struggle and sacrifice’ will succeed

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday tweeted a post about the farmers who have lost their lives while protesting against the Centre’s farm laws so far.

किसानों का संघर्ष और बलिदान अवश्य रंग लाएगा!

किसान भाइयों-बहनों को नमन और श्रद्धांजलि। pic.twitter.com/eFdBjxlRQu

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 20, 2020

Famer protest continues as temperature falls to 3.4 degree Celsius

Thousands of farmers protesting at Delhi borders against the Centre’s new agri laws remained firm in their demands of repealing the legislations, even as the city recorded its coldest morning this season, with the mercury dipping to 3.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

 According to the India Meteorological Department, a cold wave swept Delhi on Sunday. The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, recorded a minimum of 3.4 degrees Celsius, five notches below the normal, on Sunday morning,

Farmers burn copies of Narendra Singh Tomar’s letter

Farmers camping at the Delhi-Noida border to protest against the three recent farm laws of the Centre on Saturday burnt copies of an open letter of Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s written to them in a bid to pacify them, PTI reported.

Scores of protestors from various districts of western Uttar Pradesh are camping at the Chilla border and at a nearby Dalit Prerna Sthal since the first week of December.

Farmers to observe ‘Shahidi Diwas’, says report

The farmers protesting at the Ghazipur border will reportedly observe ‘Shahidi Diwas’ on Sunday, The Times of India reported. The protest has entered the 23rd day on Sunday.

Next round of talks likely soon, says ML Khattar

There can be a way out for the next round of talks between the government and farmer unions protesting against the Centre’s new farm laws in a day or two, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said after meeting Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Saturday.

This is the second time the Haryana chief minister met Tomar at his residence since the protests broke out over three weeks ago, a state government official told PTI, adding that he had met the Union minister earlier on 8 December.

“In a day or two, there can be a way out for talks. The government is ready for discussion if farmer union leaders come forward beyond yes or no,” Khattar was quoted as saying in a Haryana government statement. “There can’t be any solution within the boundary of ‘yes or no’. Solutions can be found only after discussion on specific issues. We are hopeful of positive outcome,” he added.