Mumbai, December 26

A group of farmers from Maharashtra on Saturday joined protesters at one of the borders of Delhi, an All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) leader said and added that tillers have expressed willingness to discuss issues with the government but wanted certain clauses from the three agri laws removed.

On Monday, thousands of farmers from Maharashtra had left for Delhi from Nashik in vehicles to join the ongoing agitation seeking the repeal of the legislations.

“We received a rousing welcome at a New Delhi border. Farmers sitting on protests here welcomed us and thanked us for joining them,” All India Kisan Sabha secretary, Maharashtra, Ajit Navle, said in a statement.

He said that farmers have expressed willingness to discuss their issues with the government, “but we want some clauses in the recently-passed laws, which do not protect the interests of farmers, removed”.

The farmers from Maharashtra, who started off in private vehicles from Nashik on Monday, were led by leaders of the Kisan Sabha.

According to the Kisan Sabha, cultivators from 21 districts in Maharashtra had joined the “vehicle march” to Delhi.

Enacted in September, the three farm laws have been projected by the Central government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.

However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and do away with the mandi system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

The government has repeatedly asserted that the MSP and Mandi systems will stay and has accused the opposition of misleading the farmers.

Multiple rounds of talks held between the government and the protesting farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have failed to break the ongoing impasse. —PTI

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 26

Farmer unions have agreed for a meeting with the government on December 29 at 11 am. However, the meeting will be on the agenda decided by the unions.

The four demands include repeal of the three laws and a separate law on MSP. The other two demands are related to the electricity law and to law related to burning of paddy stubble.

Read also

Let’s not allow lies to derail farm reforms

This will be the sixth meeting between farmer unions and ministers. The earlier meetings had failed to break the deadlock.

Though farmer unions have again set conditions, including repeal of three laws, for the talks, government sources say there is no going back on three Acts, something that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also made it clear in his last address to farmers yesterday.

Making clear stance on “Left leaning” leaders in the agitation, they are also accusing them of “misleading farmers and creating hurdles between the government and genuine farmers and their leaders”.

Meanwhile, farmer unions said on December 30 all tractors will march from one border to the other.

They added that if the issue is not resolved till January 1, they will make a “big announcement”.

Read also: 

RLP convener Beniwal announces split from NDA over farm laws

More Punjab farmers head towards protest sites near Delhi

Manoj Tiwari invites Kejriwal to his house, offers to clear his ‘doubts’ about farm laws

Farmers from Maharashtra reach Delhi border: All India Kisan Sabha

PM blatantly lying on laws: Farm leaders 

Opposition misusing stir, claims Modi; give laws a year, Rajnath appeals to farmers

Speaking from Singhu border, Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav said “as you know a letter diplomacy is going on because the aim of the government is to lob the ball in our court”.

Yadav said the last two letters by Joint Secretary Vivek Aggarwal have half truths and same ‘chalakis’.

Yadav said farmers have made the agenda because farmers keep asking us what we want.

“We are always ready to talk with an open mind,” he said.

According to Darshan Pal, they have given a general call for agitation and protest across the country, including ban on Ambani-Adani products.

The toll plazas will also remain free and on December 27 and 28, the martyrdom day of Sahibzade of Guru Gobind Singh will be observed at all the five borders.

Full text of the letter by farmers’ union:

To:                  Date: 26th Dec. 2020

Shri Vivek Aggarwal,

Joint Secretary,

Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare,

Government of India.

Subject: Re Ongoing negotiations between farmers’ organisations and Govt of India to repeal the three Central Farm Acts

Dear Shri Aggarwal,

This is in response to your letter (09/2020) dated 24th December 2020.

Unfortunately, your letter continues the governments’ attempt to mislead the public by suppressing true facts about the deliberations in the previous meetings. We have consistently demanded the repeal of the three Central Farm Acts, whereas the government has distorted our position as if we were asking for amendments to these Acts. If you are sincere about respectfully listening to the farmers, as you say in your letter, the government must not indulge in misinformation about the previous meetings. The campaign launched by the entire state machinery to defame and malign the farmers’ movement must stop forthwith.

Be as it may, since you are willing to hold a meeting on date, time and issues of our choosing, we make the following proposal on behalf of Samyukt Kisan Morch after due consultation with all organisations. We propose that the next meeting between the farmers’ representatives and the Government of India be held on 29th December 2020 at 11am, with the following agenda, as per the sequence mentioned below:

1. Modalities to be adopted for the repeal of the three Central Farm Acts;

2. Mechanisms to be adopted to make remunerative MSP recommended by the National Farmers’ Commission into a legally guaranteed entitlement for all farmers and all agricultural commodities;

3. Amendments to be made and notified in the “Commission for the Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance, 2020” to exclude farmers from the penal provisions of the Ordinance;

4. Changes to be made in the draft Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 to protect the interests of farmers.

This is to reiterate that farmers’ organisations are and have always been open to a sincere dialogue.

Sincerely,

(Leaders of 40 farmers organisations)

For

…the sacrifices made by doughty soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces, the Punjab State War Memorial was erected. Tribune correspondent Ajay Joshi and lensman Malkiat Singh freshen up the times that have withered away.

Standing opposite to the Shaheed Bhagat Singh bus terminal, Jalandhar, the ‘Punjab State War Memorial’ is a delight for eyes. Spanning nearly 1.4 acres, the memorial is a window into the history of wars fought by the bravehearts of the Indian Armed Forces. Names of nearly 150 martyred soldiers along with their awards have been chiseled on a 50-ft central obelisk. Constructed at a cost of Rs13 lakh, the memorial was inaugurated and dedicated to people of Punjab by Darbara Singh, then CM of Punjab, on April 4, 1981. The task for the construction was entrusted upon the Improvement Trust, Jalandhar, and its design was conceived by an eminent Amritsar-based architect Amarjit Singh.

The central column was reportedly manufactured with white marble, red sandstone on hexagonal platforms, and interestingly, the soil has been collected from all villages of the district. On sides of these hexagonal raised platforms, the names of gallantry award winners since 1947 have been engraved on a black granite stone. The monument stands independently as a symbol of sacrifice and pride.

The project of the memorial was conceived not only as a monument to commemorate our martyrs but also to facilitate intellectual pursuit. It is maintained by District Sainik Welfare Board. Deputy director Sainik Welfare, Colonel (retd) Dalwinder Singh, said: “It was functional since 1989 and every year ‘Armed Forces Flag Day’ was observed on December 7 to pay homage to the martyrs.”

Hall of fame

It was inaugurated by then Governor of Punjab, Virendra Yadav, on the occasion of the silver jubilee of Indo-Pak War 1965, on October 12, 1990. Built in the memory of all those who laid down their lives in various operations since August 15, 1947, ‘hall of fame’ remembers the martyrs and displays them on wooden walls. Charting battle history from the bygone era, various momentos, guns and artilleries can be seen here. The details of war casualties in alphabetical order was obtained and authenticated from the records available at the historical section of the Army HQ.

War library

Small yet weighty, it is the most significant area of the Punjab State War Memorial. Apart from housing illustrations of several soldiers who sacrificed their lives in various wars and anti-militancy operations, the library has over hundreds of books. A sneak-peak into the major wars, the shelved books will take you back to the time when the Indian Armed Forces were originated, Sikh army and road to freedom, formation of political parties and so on. The delight of vegetarian cooking, flames of chinar, pilllars of modern India converted Kashmir are some of the most valuable books there.

Kargil gallery

It was inaugurated by GOC-IN-C Western Command and ex-Risaldar Harbir Singh on December 7, 2003. It has a large frame consisting portraits of 27 battle casualties of Kargil and other recent operations. Besides, a separate wooden frame has been dedicated to Major GS Badalia of second Mahar, who sacrificed his life in the ‘Operation Orchid’. Worn out Rajashtani sandstone, where the names of war-decorated soldiers killed in action were inscribed, was replaced by black granite stone slabs during 1990.

Amar jawan jyoti

Placed at the central monument, it’s the area where tributes are paid to the martyrs by lighting lamps and candles.

Our Correspondent

Tarn Taran, December 22

NDA graduates and former students of the Nishan-E-Sikhi preparatory Institute (NDA), Khadoor Sahib, addressed the current batches of the institute at Khadoor Sahib, 25 km from here today. They said focus on regular study; knowledge and confidence were the key to crack the NDA written and practical tests, including the SSB.

Adesh Parkash Singh, who joined as an Air Force Officer, said in the Air Force, one has to be in-touch with upgrading knowledge throughout the career. “Written tests are to test your knowledge, physical tests for athleticism and agility while interviews are for the assessment of your confidence and conceptual clarity,” he added. Harsidakpaul Singh, who joined the Indian Army as officer, said, “You should study maximum in the classroom, otherwise you could face difficult times in future.”

THE political crisis in Nepal, triggered by the sudden dissolution of Parliament by the President on the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, has elicited contrasting responses from its neighbours India and China. While India has described the developments as the Himalayan nation’s ‘internal matter’, China has been quick to make an intervention. Chinese ambassador Hou Yanqi has already met President Bidya Devi Bhandari and the ruling Nepal Communist Party’s (NCP) executive chairman PK Dahal, better known as Prachanda. The power tussle within the NCP has intensified this week, with Prachanda removing Oli from the posts of the party’s parliamentary leader and chairman. The Oli faction, in turn, has ousted Prachanda from the executive chairman’s seat.

Political and economic stability in Nepal matter a lot to China as it has invested billions of dollars under its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which includes the Trans-Himalayan Multidimensional Connectivity Network — an economic corridor that consists of several major infrastructure projects. Moreover, in 2018, China had apparently played a role in the merger of Nepal’s two communist parties which were then led by Oli and Prachanda. Regarded as a pro-China leader, Oli had riled India earlier this year by redrawing the country’s political map, laying claim to the Indian territories of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani. The brazen move had impacted relations between New Delhi and Kathmandu at a time when tensions were running high at the India-China border.

The current turmoil comes amid India’s efforts to restore friendly ties with Nepal through recent visits to that country by Army Chief Gen MM Naravane and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla. Though India is not keen to meddle in Nepal’s affairs, it can’t afford to let a scheming China undo all the confidence-building measures. New Delhi should keep a close watch on Beijing’s moves and at the same time assure Nepal of its unstinting support, no matter which way the wind blows.

Chandigarh: The protest in Delhi may get a boost over the next three days as farm organisations have urged people of the state to mark the martyrdom day of Chote Sahibzade (younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh) and Mata Gujar Kaur by joining the morcha. The 32 farmer organisations in the state have asked people to pay obeisance at the Fatehgarh Sahib gurdwara before heading to the Singhu border. Earlier, the BKU (Ugrahan) had announced that they would take 30,000 people in two batches to Delhi on December 25 and 26. On December 26, a contingent of 15,000 protesters would march from the Khanauri border, while on December 27, another 15,000 people would start their march from Dabwali.

Priests go on fast in support of farmers

Anandpur Sahib: Religious personalities from the district have come in support of the famers. Former head granthi and two ex-Panj Pyaras of Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib along with several others observed a one-day fast to express their solidarity with the farming community on Thursday. Former head granthi Giani Sukhwinder Singh along with Hari Singh, Balwinder Singh, Manjinder Singh Brar, Tirath Singh and Harminder Pal Singh reached Guru Ravidas Chowk and sat on a fast. Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib head granthi Phoola Singh performed ‘ardas’. Giani Sukhwinder Singh urged people to continue a chain hunger strike.

Fatehgarh Sahib, Dec 24

The three-day annual Shaheedi Jor Mela is set to begin tomorrow. Thousands of devotees have already thronged Fatehgarh Sahib for the event.

Every year, the town hosts lakhs of devotees from across the world on the occasion. The district administration has pressed into service mobile Covid testing labs in view of the pandemic. It also plans to distribute one lakh masks among people. The district police have installed CCTV cameras at different locations and will also be using drones for surveillance.

Amneet Kondal, SSP, said the district police had installed high-tech CCTV cameras at all sensitive points in Fatehgarh Sahib. “The district police have launched a mobile app to help devotees get information on parking, medical facilities, medical aid, temporary bus stands, alternative routes and others. People can also register their complaints regarding missing persons or belongings on the app,” she added. — OC

Abohar, December 24

Hundreds of farmers staging a dharna for the past 12 days near Shahjahanpur village in Alwar of Rajasthan today decided to move towards Delhi on Friday afternoon.

“We will not return without getting our demands met,” said national vice president of All India Kisan Sabha and former legislator Amra Ram.

Raja Ram Meel of Jat Mahasabha said farmers from Kota, Bundi, Baran, Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh and Churu had been camping at the Shahjahanpur border since December 13. The joint Kisan Morcha, Rajasthan, has decided to move to the Delhi border on Friday. — OC

Sanjiv Kumar Bakshi

Hoshiarpur, December 24

BJP’s post in support of agri laws to counter the social media support to farmers’ agitation, has cost dear to the party, as a farmer, Harpreet Singh (in pic), whose photo was used by the BJP, has slapped a legal notice for illegally using his photograph in the post without his consent.

In the notice, his advocate Hakam Singh has mentioned that Harpreet, alias ‘Harp Farmer’, of Hoshiarpur’s Nadalon village, is a photographer, actor and director, whose picture the BJP used in its pro-farm laws post over social media. Now, he has sought an apology for ‘committing theft of photograph, misusing it without his consent,’ within a week, else he would be filing criminal and defamation case.

The notice was sent to the president/in-charge of the BJP national headquarters, central office of the BJP in Delhi, president/ in-charge of the BJP Punjab state and president/ in-charge of the BJP office in Chandigarh.

It has been alleged that Harpreet’s photograph was illegally procured by the BJP and it has been used in favour of farm laws, whereas on the contrary, he was against the said laws right from the beginning and was actively participating in the protests in Delhi since November 26.

It has been alleged that the photograph was not provided by Harpreet and its use in support of farm laws has hurt his feeling as he does not support these laws. Also, this has made him a subject of ‘mockery’, while farmers and other people were doubting his integrity.

Harpreet, through the notice, has sought from the BJP to delete his photo in the said post within a week and tender an apology on social media and clarify that the photo has not been uploaded with his consent and permission and it was uploaded by them (BJP) and it was a mistake committed by them. A clarification has also been sought through the notice, ‘from where they (BJP) procured the photo illegally and as to why it was misused’.