Vibha Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 3
Amid international support for the farmers’ movement, an interesting change is being reported in the agitation at Delhi borders against the three contentious farm laws that has completed 70 days in the running.
Attention is gradually shifting from Singhu and Tikri, where Punjab unions are camping, to Ghazipur where BKU (Tikait) leader Rakesh Tikait is holding the fort.
Interestingly, while the status quo of Punjab union leaders is largely unchanged, Rakesh Tikait is fast emerging as the ‘star’ of the movement.
“Currently most of the focus is on him, which is an interesting development given that in the initial days of the movement, he (Rakesh Tikait) was nowhere in the picture,” says a BKU leader who did not wish to be named.
This is a huge development in context of Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state and integral to election plans of any political party. The state, which goes to Assembly polls next year, sends as many as 80 Lok Sabha MPs to the Centre.
Farmer leaders at the khap mahapanchayat in Jind on Wednesday.
Deepender Deswal
Tribune News Service
Jind, February 3
The khap mahapanchayat here on Wednesday adopted five resolutions.
The mahapanchayat in the presence of farmer leaders Rakesh Tikait, Gurnam Singh Charuni and Balbir Singh Rajewal demanded repeal of the three laws, making a law to ensure minimum support price, waiving of the loan of the farmers, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations and to withdrawal the criminal cases registered against the farmers in Delhi on January 26.
A large number of farmers gathered at the mahapanchayat hosted by the Sarv Jatiya Kandela khap near Jind.
Kandela village, located about 10 km from Jind, is the headquarters of the Kandela khap which has influence in about 20 adjoining villages. People from these villages have been providing logistic support and the manpower to the ongoing farmers’ stir near Delhi borders for over two months.
Following the emotional outburst by Tikait on Thursday, farmers from the region, including Kandela village, had rushed to the Ghazipur border after which the agitation got strong and the government authorities who are mulling to remove the farmers from the dharna site, had to retreat.
The stage on which Bharatiya Kisan Union (Arajnaitik) leader Rakesh Tikait & other farmer leaders were standing, collapses in Jind, Haryana. A ‘Mahapanchayat’ is underway in Jind. open link below
Tekram Kandela, pradhan of the Kandela khap, said the farmers from the village immediately started a tractor march to the Delhi border when the video of Tikait breaking into tears went viral on social media on January 28 as the government was planning to launch a crackdown on Tikait and other farmers sitting on dharna at Ghazipur.
Overwhelmed by the support from Haryana, Tikait called Tekram Kandela and decided to hold a meeting at Kandela village. The khap pradhan said they had invited all the khap panchayats of Haryana for the meeting and expected a huge turnout.
He said they had demarcated seven acres of land near the chabutara of Kandela khap in the village and made preparations for providing food and water to the participants.
Kandela village was also the centre of farmers’ agitation in 2002 against the then INLD government on the issue of power bills.
The stage on which the farmer leaders were sitting also collapsed, according to a report by news agency ANI.
Don’t stand on prestige’: Oppn clamours for farm law repeal Farmer stir dominates Prez Address debate in Rajya Sabha | Lok Sabha adjourns repeatedly
Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the ongoing agitation and the law and order situation.
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 3
Farmers’ stir dominated discussions on the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with the BJP and Opposition clashing over the future of the new agriculture laws.
After the BJP’s lead speaker Bhubaneswar Kalita from Assam defended the legislations while cautioning the Opposition against turning the farmers’ agitation into another Shaheen Bagh, the Congress and Samajwadi Party urged the government to rescind the laws rather than stand on prestige.
Amit Shah briefs Prime Minister
Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the ongoing agitation and the law and order situation. Later, Shah tweeted, “No propaganda can deter India’s unity! No propaganda can stop India from attaining new heights!” Ministers Piyush Goyal and Smriti Irani and celebrities Karan Johar, Ajay Devgan and Akshay Kumar also tweeted with hashtags “Indiatogether and “India against propaganda”.
The Motion of Thanks on President’s Address, which Kalita moved, saw 118 amendments by opposition MPs, including DMK’s Tiruchi Siva and Congress’ Digvijay Singh, Deepender Singh Hooda and KC Venugopal. The RS allocated 15 hours for the debate after the Opposition and the government agreed to extend it beyond the scheduled 10 hours to include time for discussion on farmers’ issues.
Kalita, former Congress chief whip in the RS, said the new laws would give new rights to farmers and doors were open for them to amicably resolve the issue. The BJP’s Vijaypal Singh Tomar, who seconded the motion, listed 12 expert committees that deliberated upon the farm reforms for two decades. Speaking in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tomar slammed the Opposition for “spreading misinformation” and said the new laws would empower small farmers and help their children become job providers.
Opening the debate from the other side, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad insisted on repeal of laws saying that the “government should not make it a prestige issue”.
“There can be nothing better than the PM himself announcing the decision to withdraw the laws,” said Azad, asking the Centre to form a committee to locate “people who had gone missing after the Republic Day violence”.
“We condemn what happened on January 26, particularly at the Red Fort but please ensure innocent farmer leaders are not implicated or the agitation will swell,” he warned.
Demanding farm law repeal, SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav cautioned the government against corporate monopoly over farm produce.
The Lok Sabha proceedings, meanwhile, were adjourned repeatedly on Wednesday as the protesting opposition members demanded a separate discussion on farm laws.
The House reassembled thrice, only to again adjourn till 5 pm, then 7 pm and later till 9 pm as the Opposition continued its protest despite repeated assurances by the Speaker that the members would get adequate opportunity to put forward their views.
Around 15 MPs from 10 opposition parties reach Ghazipur border to meet farmers
Around 15 MPs from 10 opposition parties on Thursday reached the Ghazipur border to meet farmers protesting against new farm laws.
Farmers have been protesting at the Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders of Delgi for the past more than two months against the three new farm laws.
They say the new laws will leave them at the mercy of corporates whereas the government says they are for the benefit of farmers.Many rounds of talks between the Centre and farmers have not led to anything.
Opposition parties have been supporting the farmers’ cause. PTI
US for fair play, human rights while backing farm law trajectory
A day after several celebrities in the West spoke out against the stalemate between farmers and the Indian Government, the US State Department has weighed in by calling for observing human rights and rules of fair play while supporting the general trajectory of the three farm laws.
“We recognise that unhindered access to information, including the Internet, is fundamental to the freedom of expression and a hallmark of a thriving democracy,” said the US State Department in response to a question on the ongoing farmers’ protests in India while calling for differences to be resolved through dialogue.
“In general, the United States welcomes steps that would improve the efficiency of India’s markets and attract greater private sector investment,” added Ned Price, the State Department spokesperson.
“We recognise that peaceful protests are a hallmark of any thriving democracy and note that the Indian Supreme Court has stated the same,” he emphasised.
The State Department has come into play after several politicians, including a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, backed demand by celebrities led by pop singer Rihanna for a resolution of the farmers’ agitation.
The tweets by some celebrities in the West, led to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issuing a statement that advised them to fully understand the intent of the farm laws before rushing to comment. However, with farm law oppositionists dominating the social media, the response went up a notch higher with several Indian celebrities, mainly cricketers, taking to the social media with common hashtags and near identical messages to preserve the country’s unity.
New Delhi says the three farm laws will give greater flexibility and freedom to sell farm produce but the protesting farmers claim they are heavily weighed in favour of the corporates.
The State Department as well as the celebrities have emphasised shutting the Internet services and police intimidation after a small group of farmers went off course during the January 26 Tractor March into Delhi and indulged in vandalism at the Red Fort. The Haryana government has since restored Internet services in parts of the state but not at the protest sites of Singhu and Tikri, on the border with Delhi.
31 JAN 2021 : PRIN MEDIA “”””JAI JAWAN JAI KISSAN NEWS “”””
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested businessman Anoop Kumar Gupta in connection with a money-laundering probe into the over Rs 3,600-crore VVIP choppers purchase scam case, official sources said on Saturday.
They said Gupta, the joint managing director of KRBL Limited that sells India Gate basmati rice, has been sent to five-day custody of the central probe agency after he was produced before a special court for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) here.
ED sources said Gupta was arrested in the AgustaWestland VVIP choppers deal case and alleged he was not cooperating in the ongoing probe.
His custodial interrogation was necessary in the light of some fresh evidence gathered by the Enforcement Directorate that pertains to “proceeds of crime” or alleged kickbacks of the deal being paid to a firm “controlled” by Gupta, they said.
Gupta’s lawyers told the court that his arrest was “not justified” and pleaded that he should not be sent to ED custody owing to his medical condition as he suffers from diabetes and other ailments.
The agency, in its remand application, said two streams were used for channelling about Euro 70 million worth “proceeds of crime” or bribe money to various political persons, bureaucrats and Indian Air Force officials in return of swinging the 12 helicopters deal in favour of AgustaWestland.
“It is submitted that IDS Information Technology and Engineering Sarl, Tunisia has received proceeds of crime to the tune of Euro 24.37 million from AgustaWestland and out of this about Euro 12.4 million were further transferred to Interstellar Technologies Limited, Mauritius.” “The proceeds of crime were further transferred to various companies including Rawasi Al Khaleej General Trading (RAKGT) LLC Dubai which was incorporated in 2007 by KRBL DMCC, Dubai and accused Anoop Gupta was one of the director of this company,” the ED alleged. This company (KRBL DMCC) was a subsidiary of KRBL Limited (India), it said.
The ED said that “in 2009, the entire stake (49 per cent shareholding) of KRBL DMCC held in RAKGT was transferred in the name of one Anurag Potdar but in fact, even after this, RAKGT is under the control of KRBL Limited through Gupta and part of the proceeds of crime received in RAKGT were transferred to KRBL Limited.” It claimed that it obtained some documents in December last year pertaining to these purported links and they show that Gupta was “controlling” the financial transactions of this (RAKGT) company. Gupta has been named by the ED in another alleged defence deal scam involving aircraft manufacturer Embraer.
The businessman was named in a charge sheet by the agency in December in that case that pertains to payment of alleged commission by Embraer to clinch the USD 208-million deal with India, in which it is suspected and alleged that kickbacks were paid.
The ED slapped money laundering charges to probe allegations of irregularities in the now-cancelled deal to purchase of 12 VVIP choppers from Italy-based Finmeccanica’s British subsidiary AgustaWestland. The deal was scrapped by India in 2014. — PTI
Stark need for modernisation’ — why armed forces want a big jump in defence budget
An Indian Army truck on a Kashmir highway leading to Ladakh | Representational image | ANI
New Delhi: The armed forces are hoping for a miracle this Union Budget from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman — a substantial rise in the defence allocation, which will enable them to bring on track the mega procurement plans that have either slowed or stalled.
Citing the ongoing border standoff with China, sources in the forces said there is a stark need for defence modernisation.
A number of mega deals are pending or have slowed due to budgetary constraints, including those for new transport and fighter aircraft, and helicopters for the Indian Air Force (IAF); artillery guns, assault rifles, snipers and specialised vehicles for the Army; and fighter aircraft, submarines, new warships and helicopters for the Navy.
Experts, however, say a large budgetary rise is not on the cards. Given that the pandemic has hit India’s economy and the government’s priority will be investment in infrastructure and health, a raise of Rs 10,000-15,000 crore in capital budget would be welcome, they say.
Government sources too indicated to ThePrint that the Ministry of Defence’s push for a rollover budget or a non-lapsable fund for itself is unlikely to be met on 1 February when FM Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2021-22.
In 2020-21, the Narendra Modi government increased India’s defence budget by a mere 1.82 per cent to Rs 3.37 lakh crore, excluding expenditure on pension. ThePrint had then reported that the allocation isn’t enough for a military that has been forced to cut back on its procurement and modernisation plans due to lack of funds.
The capital budget for the military, which is used for new acquisition and modernisation, saw a meagre 3 per cent rise, or Rs 3,400 crore, over the revised 2019-20 estimates.
The IAF, which is in the middle of buying nearly 200 new fighter aircraft, saw its capital budget lowered from revised estimates of Rs 44,869.14 crore to Rs 43,281.91 crore.
According to a 2019 report, the Modi government has firmed up a mega plan to spend $130 billion to bolster combat capability of the armed forces in the next five to seven years. However, all three services have since spoken on record about the budgetary constraints, and impediments to modernisation.
In a scathing January 2020 report, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence had also criticised the Modi government for inadequate budgetary allocation for the Army.
According to sources in the armed services, the standoff with China in eastern Ladakh has brought out the desperate need for modernisation out in the open.
Since the standoff began in April-May, all three services have gone in for emergency procurement.
A source in the forces said, “The budget has to come up with an increased hike for the defence sector. China is going to be a constant challenge now. There is no other way than having a strong military to deal with China. A strong military means having the deterrence power to deal with a country which is not just bigger militarily but also economically.”
A second source said it’s not just the Army that needs modernisation to tackle China, but also the Navy and the Air Force.
“Chinese military is expanding, be it the Army, Navy or the Air Force. From being a manpower intensive military, they are in advanced stages of being a capital intensive force. To even offer the slightest credible deterrence power, the Indian armed forces need to modernise and for this money is important,” the second source said.
Earlier this month, former defence secretary G. Mohan Kumar noted the need to equip India’s forces, especially the Army and the Air Force on the eastern front through fast-track procurement on priority, which will necessitate heavy revenue and capital expenditure.
“This could effectively hobble long-term capability building and ‘Make in India’, unless the government increases defence-service allocations disregarding its resource crunch. Strategically, a strong naval presence in the Indian Ocean is vital for keeping China at bay,” he wrote.
Major General Yash Mor (Retd), former General Officer Commanding of the Leh Sub Area, said India spends one of the lowest per capita on defence compared to the largest six. “We need to spend more. Budget has to factor in the economic situation and also the threat perception,” he said.
Experts don’t see chances of big jump
Laxman Behera, associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Special Centre for National Security Studies, said there is no doubt India’s defence is in urgent need for substantial increase in allocation, but wasn’t hopeful of a big jump.
“Any increase would be welcome given the state of the economy. But I don’t think there will be a huge increase,” he said.
“The fact that the defence budget was kept away from the Covid curbs in 2020 is encouraging. Since DA was not given, no major raise in revenue budget for defence should be expected. However, a raise of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 crore in capital allotment would be welcome,” Behera added.
Tara Kartha, former director, National Security Council Secretariat, said there is no way a drastic jump is possible. India will have to decide what kind of war it wants to fight and rationalise the mass spending on purchase of the next generation of the same equipment, she argued.
The combined annual training camp of the Chandigarh NCC Air Wing is being organised at the NCC Complex here, with a total of 35 cadets, including 21 girls, participating in the event.
During the camp, cadets were being exposed to intensive training regimen, which include both outdoor activities and classroom lectures, said camp commandant Group Captain MR Pandeya.
In addition to drill and weapon training, various topics being covered are history of the Indian Air Force (IAF), precautionary measures during flying, role of air traffic control, meteorology and navigation in aviation, first-aid procedures, fire-fighting and selection process in the IAF.
Inaugurating the camp, Col DK Sharma, Training Officer, Chandigarh NCC Group, an ex-NCC cadet himself, said the NCC imparts discipline and promotes fitness amongst the youth. He exhorted the cadets to excel in all fields, enjoy the training and develop camaraderie and friendship among themselves. — TNS
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