Monthly Archives: August 2018

Ravi S Singh
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 5

The Opposition in the Rajya Sabha amped up their stand against the three farm laws on Friday, demanding their repeal and sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to end the deadlock.

They demanded a time-bound judicial probe headed by a sitting Supreme Court judge into the violence and defiling of the national flag at Red Fort on Republic Day.

On the other hand, the BJP members put up a stout defence of the laws, saying they were reformative and aimed to scale up the agriculture sector.

They were upfront in appreciation of government’s performance under the leadership of Modi.

Taking part in the discussion on Motion of Thanks on the President’s address, Anand Sharma of the Congress said the current impasse on the laws is due to the rigid stand of the government in continuing with them.

He asked the government to listen to the dissenting voices and voice of the Opposition in the best tradition of democracy.

Agriculture is a “State” subject. It is not even in the Concurrent List. Hence, the Centre’s legislation on the farm laws was legally questionable, he said.

He expressed concern at the judiciary’s delays in giving judgments on issues constitutional, like the farm laws and Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

He demanded withdrawal of the laws.

He said the laws were passed in Rajya Sabha in an undemocratic manner by giving short shrift to parliamentary procedures.

Sharma demanded judicial probe into the violence at Red Fort on Republic Day to bring the culprits to book.

Sharma, however, lauded the country’s successful resolve to tackle COVID-19 pandemic, especially manufacturing of the two indigenous vaccines against coronavirus.

Binoy Viswam of the CPI, Praful Patel of the NCP and SC Mishra of the BSP also demanded withdrawal of the laws.

BJP’s Vinay Sahsrabuddhe said the country has scaled new heights and set new milestones in its march toward progress under leadership of Modi.

He defended the farm laws, saying they were progressive.

He flayed the Opposition parties for saying that the government was “arrogant” in not acceding to demand for repeal of the farm laws.

He rubbished allegations that the government is not talking to the farmers on the laws.

“The government has assured that it will put implementation of the laws on hold for one-and-half years,” he said.

“You also show flexibility,” Sahasrabuddhe said, addressing the Opposition parties.

He said the laws were enacted after many discussions in the country, and reports, including the one headed by Montek Singh Ahluwalia which recommended reform of agriculture sector.

New Delhi, February 4

Freelance journalist Mandeep Punia, who was arrested by the Delhi Police from the Singhu border, has said that he talked to farmers and scribbled notes on his legs inside the Tihar Jail to write a report.

Punia was released from the prison on Wednesday after a court granted him bail.  Talking to reporters outside the jail, he said, “It (being inside the prison) turned out to be an opportunity for me. I got a chance to talk to the farmers lodged in the jail and scribbled notes on my legs. I am going to write a detailed report.”

“My work is to report from ground zero… I asked the farmers why and how they were arrested,” he said.

Punia said he had been covering the protest at the Singhu border from the day it started.

“It was my responsibility as a journalist to report it truthfully and faithfully. I was trying to do that. I was trying to find out the people behind the attack on the movement site. My work was interrupted by the arrest. I lost valuable time. I do feel that that I was wronged,” he tweeted.

He alleged that the police interfered with his work and said the incident had strengthened his resolve to continue with his work.

Punia was arrested at the Singhu border on charges of “obstructing public servants in discharge of public functions”, “assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty”, and “voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty”.

He was sent to 14-day judicial custody on Sunday by the court of metropolitan magistrate.

However, he was granted bail on Tuesday after furnishing a personal bond of Rs 25,000. PTI

New Delhi, February 4

The more than two-month-long farmers’ agitation against the three farm laws continues on Delhi’s borders.

In such a scenario, Bharatiya Kisan Union national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait has evolved a formula to keep the movement going: Get one tractor and 15 people for 10 days from every village. This will enable the maximum number of farmers to participate in the movement and also return to the village and engage in farming.

According to Tikait, leaders of farmers’ bodies are constantly urging the government to talk with them, but the government isn’t doing so. “In fact, the government wants to prolong the farmers’ agitation.” So, Tikait has evolved a formula through which the agitation will attain longevity. In this formula, 15 people from every village should stay at the protest venue for 10 days and then the next lot of 15 should replace them. The first lot of protesters can then return home and tend to the fields.

Read also: Opposition tears into govt’s handling of farmers’ protest, says monologue should stop

Iron nails fixed on roads at Ghazipur border being ‘repositioned’, say Delhi Police

Tikait announced on Thursday: “Work on the formula of one tractor and 15 people for 10 days from every village. Then, even if the movement runs for 70 years, there is no problem.”

The 11 rounds of talks between the government and farmers so far have failed to resolve the impasse. Asked about the resumption of dialogue, Tikait said: “Through the media, we will keep requesting the government for a dialogue. Now it is up to the government to decide how much time it has for the farmers.” He said the government is adopting new tactics every day to prolong the farmers’ agitation. “Not talking to farmers and turning Delhi into a fortress are part of these tactics. Let us see till when does the government keep testing the farmers?” — IANS

Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 4

Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda on Thursday suggested to Union government a conciliatory measure to end the impasse on the three farm laws by opening talks with farmers and also pitched for Members in the House taking part in them with constructive inputs.

Talking part in a discussion on the Motion of Thanks on President’s Address, Gowda also endorsed progressive measures for farmers taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last seven years, since 2014.

He demanded punitive action against the “miscreants” and “anti-social” elements who indulged in violence, showed disrespect to national flag on Republic Day which has defamed the farmers.

“All political parties have condemned the incidents,” Gowda said, and stressed that the perpetrators were not farmers.

Appreciating measure taken by Modi to help farmers, he said they are many. “I am not going to dispute on that. The measures have started showing results,” Gowda said.

He said that when the farmers of Punjab and Haryana were agitating Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar held talks with them and gave assurance to amend the laws to take care of their concerns. But the farmers have laid condition for repeal of the laws which has led to the impasse.

“After the Republic Day incident the government has created barriers at the sites of farmers’ protests. This will not lead to solution of the problem.”

“There has to be a congenial atmosphere,” Gowda said, and added that being a farmer himself, and during the last leg of his life he wanted to see a peaceful and amicable solution to the issue.

He said the farm laws were passed without following proper proceedings as the House “was not in order”.

The farmers are not convinced with government’s rationale that the laws will remove middlemen from the system, and are apprehensive on MSP.

He stressed that 90 per cent of the farmers are in category of “small” and “marginal” whose land-holding ranging from a half to one acre.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 4

Hitting out at the government over its “failure” on various fronts, including the ongoing farmers’ agitation, Opposition members in Rajya Sabha today asked the ruling NDA leadership to stop “monologue” and instead “initiate dialogue with the protesters”.

Kaun hain ye videshi kalaakar (Who’re these foreign artistes)? — Rakesh Tikait on foreigners backing stir

Greta tweet leads to fir

The Delhi Police have filed an FIR against the “pro-Khalistan” creators of a “toolkit” shared by climate activist Greta Thunberg in a tweet backing the farmers’ stir, alleging it aimed to wage a “social, cultural, economic war against Govt of India”.

Chakka jam on feb 6

Protesting farmer outfits have been mobilising people for their ‘chakka jam’ slated for February 6. During their three-hour protest, the unions plan to block highways.

NBA star backs stir

US National Footbal league (NFL) star Juju Smith Schuster has donated $10,000 to protesting farmers while NBA forward Kyle Kuzma has also extended support to the stir.

Why isn’t PM talking to farmers, why fences?

When the PM says he’s only a phone call away, who is coming between him and farmers… Why have fences been built, toilets removed, Net blocked? — Deepender Hooda, Congress

Opening the second day of discussion on a motion thanking the President for his address to the joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget session, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha said the government had “lost the patience to hear and any criticism was painted as anti-national”.

“With folded hands, I request you to please understand the pain of farmers. In harsh winter you stopped water supply and toilet facilities, dug trenches, put barbed wires and installed spikes,” the RJD MP said. “Such aggressive approach wasn’t even heard of towards the neighbouring nations who came inside (the Indian territory),” he added.

On a tweet by pop star Rihanna on the farmers’ protest, Jha said the democracy would not be weakened by a tweet, but by the approach of the government.

In a veiled reference to cold storage chain and godowns built by private corporates, Jha said, “Your backbone is the farmer…. 303 (seats won by the BJP in last General Election) did not come from cold storage or godowns, but from these very people.”

Hitting out at the government, TMC MP Derek O’Brien said, “Today we are very touchy about remarks coming from outside on the farmers’ agitation. But who said this ‘Abki baar Trump sarkar’. And now we are talking about interference?”

As he rose to participate in the discussion earlier, the TMC MP said, “Such are times… we should be thankful for small freedoms. Freedoms like being allowed to speak without the microphones being muted, or the television feeds censored or MPs not being escorted out by marshals.”

Bengaluru, February 3

Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on Wednesday said the nature of warfare had changed significantly in the last few years. Advent of new technologies and cross linking of ‘physical’, ‘digital’ and ‘cognitive’ domains had complicated war fighting.

He was addressing military delegates of more than 50 countries at the Aero India here at special conclave.

The topic of the conclave was to address technological advances, changing threat matrix and evolution of air power.

The exponential technological progress made in the last few years has made the realm of warfare more complex. “The low cost and easy availability of simple disruptive technology like drones with small state and non-state actors have made them more lethal, agile and capable of generating disproportionate effects,” the IAF Chief said. The IAF was closely observing unmanned, manned-unmanned teaming and anti-drone technologies, he said. — TNS