Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to the farmers to end their agitation and initiate talks to resolve the issue while assuring that the MSP will continue. He also appealed to the farmers to give a chance to the agri reforms and said he was always open to change.
Modi while replying to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, said that the MSP will continue and so will the monthly ration scheme to 80 crore people. Appealing to the agitating farmers to end their protest, he said talks should be held to resolve the issue.
Modi said, “The agri-reforms should be given a chance and MSP was very much there and will continue in the future, and I in the House also say that the ration scheme to 80 crore will continue.”
“The farmers should end their agitation and sit and talk to resolve the issue,” he said.
“There are problems in our agri sector even after record production. We must all work together to solve these problems.
“During the Covid pandemic, we’ve also done record purchasing from the farmers. Thus, we’ve continuously made changes to keep solving problems.”
He said the objections in the House on the farm laws were procedural and even the opposition accepts that the country needs agri reforms.
He quoted former Prime Minister Charan Singh and Manmohan Singh on this: “Manmohan Singh ji is here, I would read out his quote for those taking a u-turn on the farm laws and will perhaps agree with him. ‘There are other rigidities because of the marketing regime set up in the 1930s which prevent our farmers from selling their produce where they get the highest rate of return’. This is what honourable Manmohan Singhji said.”
The Prime Minister said the number of farmers of less than one hectare has risen by 68 per cent and Rs 90,000 crore claim has been disbursed under the crop insurance scheme and Rs 1.15 lakh crore have been given through the Kisan Samman Nidhi.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday reiterated that his party never promised to give the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s post to then ally Shiv Sena after the 2019 Assembly elections.
Virtually terming Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray a liar, Shah also disputed the Sena chief’s claims that the assurance was made to him in private.
“We never gave any such undertaking and we do not lie… I don’t do anything in private, I do everything in the open, in full public view,” Shah asserted.
Instead, he countered Thackeray by asking why he didn’t object to the joint BJP-Sena campaign with big photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on election posters and banner.
Slamming the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance of Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress as ‘an autorickshaw government’ with each wheel going in different directions and something pushing it from the rear, Shah said in his greed to grab power, Thackeray junked the late Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideals and became CM.
“They violated the sacred public mandate which was in favour of BJP-Sena and colluded to form the 3-party autorickshaw government which is floundering at every step,” he said.
On Sunday, Shah inaugurated his party colleague and Rajya Sabha MP Narayan Rane’s new 300-bed private hospital and medical college, in the presence of Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Maharashtra’s Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, State BJP President Chandrakant Patil, other dignitaries, a large number of medical students, and political activists from the district.
Over 150 people have lost their lives and hundreds are missing following a massive flood near a power project at Reni village in Joshimath area of Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Sunday.
The incident occurred after the water level in Dhauliganga river, one of the six sources of the Ganga river, suddenly surged on Sunday morning following an avalanche near the Rishi Ganga power project. The 85 km river meets the Alaknanda river at Vishnuprayag at the base of Joshimath mountain in Uttarakhand.
The ITBP said that the flash flood occurred in Rishi Ganga at around 10.45 a.m. due to a glacier falling into it and exponentially increasing the volume of water.
Due to this, the Rishi Ganga hydro project was completely devastated.
“The BRO bridge on Joshimath highway was also completely washed away. There were six graziers with their livestock there and they were also swept away by the flash flood,” the ITBP said.
“Rishiganga meets Dhauliganga near Reni village. So Dhauliganga also got flooded. Five to six houses of the village were also washed away. An NTPC project on river Dhauliganga near Tapovan was completely devastated. Two ‘Jhula’ bridges connecting villages on the other side of the river were also washed away.
“More than 100 labourers at the barrage and 50 plus in the tunnel lost their life as per the incharge of Tapovan NTPC work site. As many as 150 people are missing,” the ITBP said.
“Two bodies were recovered at Tapovan NTPC site. One more was recovered from Chamoli village near Tapovan. About 16 to 17 labourers are safe inside the tunnel. Our team is working to rescue them.”
Around 250 personnel of ITBP are carrying out rescue and search operations on the site. The paramilitary force said connectivity of its Border Outposts was totally restricted due to bridge destruction near Reni village.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday stated while referring to the ongoing farmer’s protest row that has been sparked amongst a bunch of celebrities and prominent personalities recently. The MNS chief said that the government should not have “asked” big personalities like former batsman Sachin Tendulkar and legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar to tweet in their support on the issue and put their “reputation” at stake.
This comes after when some celebrities and sports personalities such as cricketer Virat Kohli, actor Akshay Kumar, and badminton star Saina Nehwal took to Twitter and express their views on the current scenario of farmers protest in the country.
The MNS chief said that the agitation is against the government policies and not concerning issues of national interest.
“The government should not have asked big personalities like Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar to tweet in support of its stand and put their reputation at stake. They are recipients of Bharat Ratna. Actors like Akshay Kumar were enough for this task,” said Raj.
Raj further continued, “This issue was about the policies of the government and not of the country. It was not a matter related to China or Pakistan. It was a matter of farmers. The Bharat Ratna recipients tweeted on behalf of the government and now they are being trolled.”
Days after Tendulkar made comments on the protest by farmers, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar had asked the former Indian cricketer to “exercise caution while speaking about other fields”.
“Many people (celebrities) have reacted sharply to the stand taken by them (farmers). My suggestion to Sachin Tendulkar is he should be cautious while commenting on fields other than his domain,” Pawar had said.
Taking to Twitter, former Indian cricket team captain tweeted: “India’s sovereignty cannot be compromised. External forces can be spectators but not participants. Indians know India and should decide for India. Let’s remain united as a nation. #IndiaTogether #IndiaAgainstPropaganda.”
India’s sovereignty cannot be compromised. External forces can be spectators but not participants. Indians know India and should decide for India. Let's remain united as a nation.#IndiaTogether#IndiaAgainstPropaganda
Tendulkar remarks came following international pos singer Rihanna and Sweden teenage environmentalist Greta Thunberg commented on farmers’ protests.
Farmers from the different states especially from Punjab and Haryana have been protesting against the newly enacted farm bills over 70 days at the border of Delhi. Several rounds of talks have been taken place between the farmers and government however nothing has been done yet.
A major fire incident broke out at a scrapyard in Mankhurd’s Mandala area on Friday following the incident several water tankers rushed to the spot to douse the fire. However, no injuries have been reported so far.
The fire brigade official said the fire was a Level 3 blaze. A total of 15 fire tenders are a spot for the operation. The incident took place at around 2: 30 pm
“The blaze erupted in a scrap material go-down. It is a ‘level-3’ (major) fire. Eleven fire engines and as many tankers are currently engaged in the firefighting operation,” a fire brigade official was quoted as saying.
According to the visual, huge plumes of black smoke were seen billowing out of the area as the fire raged on Friday afternoon. No injuries have been reported so far.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. More details awaited.
Day after resigning from the post of Maharashtra Assembly speaker, Nana Patole on Friday has been appointed as the President of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, Congress announced on Friday. This comes following Patole resigned as state speaker and had handover over his resignation letter to Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal on Thursday.
Patole replaces Balasaheb Thorat who holds the Revenue portfolio in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. He has been appointed as Maharashtra assembly speaker during the formation of the MVA government in 2019.
Former Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s daughter Pranati has been appointed as the working president. Besides Pranati, the Congress leadership also appointed other leaders as working president of Maharashtra unit including Shivaji Rao Moge, Basavaraj Patil, Mohamed Arif Naseem, Kunal Rohidas Patil and Chandrakanth Handore.
After becoming the state Congress chief Patole said, “The high command of the party asked me to resign from the post. I obeyed them.”
The Uddhav Thackeray led Shiv Sena on Friday morning staged a state-wide protest outside the collector offices against the Centre over the rising petrol and diesel price. Earlier on Thursday Sena leaders stated that bullock-cart and bicycle marches will be taken to the offices of district collectors across the state.
On Friday morning hundreds of Shiv Sainik has gathered outside railway stations and collector offices across Maharashtra and Mumbai.
Under the leadership of Shiv Sena MLA and Minister of Transport of the state Anil Parab Shivsainik reached Bandra collector officer and gave a memorandum to the suburban collector.
Besides Parab, corporator Shekhar Waingankar, Malad Parbhari, and Kiran Koli were also seen protesting outside the Kandivli railway station.
Meanwhile, the prices of petrol and diesel peaked to new highs in the country as rates were increased by the most in recent times. A litre of petrol now costs Rs 93.49 in Mumbai while diesel is retailing at Rs 83.99 a litre, 32 paise more than on Thursday’s s rate.
The 18-year-old’s first tweet came on Tuesday night, soon after pop star Rihanna posted a one-line comment sharing a CNN story. “We stand in solidarity with the #FarmersProtest in India,” Greta Thunberg wrote, sharing the same CNN story about the protests and the government restricting Internet near protest sites. Today, the Swedish climate activist shared a “toolkit” advising people on how to show support for the protests. Delhi Police officers said it “exposes the conspiracy by an organized overseas network” to instigate the farmer protests.
Greta Thunberg’s tweets on farmers have been cited in a case filed today by the Delhi Police that alleges a “criminal conspiracy” and an attempt to “promote enmity between groups”. The teen climate campaigner, unfazed, tweeted that she “still” stood with farmers and “no amount of threats” would change that. Greta Thunberg’s tweets in support of the protests near Delhi against farm laws are among many posts that have drawn international attention over the past two days to the farmers’ agitation that began late-November.
The media, based on senior police sources, reported that the police First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Greta Thunberg. However, the police then said the FIR did not name her as an accused. The charges that the FIR lists are those of conspiracy and “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language… and acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.” Soon after the news emerged, Greta Thunberg doubled down on her views with a new tweet: “I still #StandWithFarmers and support their peaceful protest. No amount of hate, threats or violations of human rights will ever change that. #FarmersProtest.”
She had deleted a similar “toolkit” she posted last night with information on supporting farmers on Republic Day, which was last week. This morning, she said she was sharing an updated list, which included seven ways to back the agitation. She also suggested organising protests near the closest Indian embassy on February 13 and 14. Yesterday, the government, in an extraordinary and sharp response to the international tweets, warned against the “temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments” and said the protests were by “a very small section of farmers” in parts of India.
Meanwhile, Kangana Ranaut went on a rampage on Twitter over International Pop singer Rihanna’s tweet on Farmers’ protest. On Thursday, the micro-blogging site took action against her by deleting some of her tweets. After Rihanna’s tweet, she called protesting farmers ‘terrorists’ and even got in a spat with Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh after he dedicated a song to the pop singer titled ‘RiRi’. She went on to call him a ‘khalistani’. Twitter said in a statement that Kangana’s tweets ‘violates the rules’.
Thunberg gave an emotional appeal in which she scolded the leaders with her repeated phrase, “How dare you.” She also said that the representatives of different countries are failing young people because of their inaction to address global heating and that “young people are starting to understand” their “betrayal.” She was not bothered by what Trump said to her or what anti-Thunberg propagandists spread about her. She just speaks her mind, and this time it was about Farmers protest. The Delhi police cyber cell has registered an FIR to investigate an “international conspiracy” to defame the country. Soon after the news of the FIR came out, Greta tweeted: “I still #StandWithFarmers and support their peaceful protest. No amount of hate, threats or violations of human rights will ever change that. #FarmersProtest”
Born on 3 January 2003 in Stockholm, Thunberg is the daughter of opera singer Malena Ernman and actor Svante Thunberg. As a child, she was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and selective mutism. She was also depressed and lethargic, stopped talking and eating a few years back. She never considered her autism as an illness but instead, she called it her superpower. Greta learnt about climate change at the age of 8 and started an awareness campaign from her own home by asking her parents to lower the family’s carbon footprint and adopt a vegan lifestyle. Not only that, her mother had to give up her international career as an opera singer following Greta’s insistence to avoid flying as much as possible. On Tuesday, several foreign individuals including International pop star Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg extended their support to farmers protesting on the Delhi borders areas.
Later, she started school climate strikes and public speeches due to which she became an internationally recognized climate activist. She used to take time off school to demonstrate outside the Swedish parliament, holding up a sign calling for stronger climate action. With other students engaged in similar protests, she organized a school climate strike movement under the name Fridays for Future. Thunberg sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in August 2019 from Plymouth, UK, to New York, US, in a 60 ft racing yacht equipped with solar panels and underwater turbines, which lasted for 15 days. In May 2019, she was featured on the cover of Time magazine, which named her a “next-generation leader” and noted that many see her as a role model.
This is not the first time that Greta had appeared at the international platform. She had also attended the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference. After the UN Climate Action Summit in New York City, Greta will also attend the COP 25 Climate Change Conference in Santiago, Chile, which will be held in December. In response, the Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday said that the government has passed the laws “after a full debate and discussion” and has “initiated a series of talks” to address the farmers’ issues. The statement also condemned the violence that broke out during the protests on Republic Day.
For about two years, Thunberg challenged her parents to lower the family’s carbon footprint and overall impact on the environment by becoming vegan, up cycling, and giving up flying. She has said she tried showing them graphs and data, but when that did not work, she warned her family that they were stealing her future.] Giving up flying in part meant her mother had to give up her international career as an opera singer. When interviewed in December, 2019 by the BBC, her father said: “To be honest, (her mother) didn’t do it to save the climate. She did it to save her child because she saw how much it meant to her, and then, when she did that, she saw how much (Greta) grew from that, how much energy she got from it. Thunberg credits her parents’ eventual response and lifestyle changes with giving her hope and belief that she could make a difference. The family story is recounted in the 2018 book Scenes from the Heart. Thunberg’s activism started after convincing her parents to adopt several lifestyle choices to reduce their own carbon footprint. In August 2018, at age 15, she started spending her school days outside the Swedish Parliament to call for stronger action on climate change by holding up a sign reading Skolstrejk för klimatet (School strike for climate). Soon, other students engaged in similar protests in their own communities. Together, they organised a school climate strike movement under the name Fridays for Future. After Thunberg addressed the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference, student strikes took place every week somewhere in the world. In 2019, there were multiple coordinated multi-city protests involving over a million students each. To avoid flying, Thunberg sailed to North America where she attended the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit. Her speech there, in which she exclaimed “how dare you”, was widely taken up by the press and incorporated into music. Her sudden rise to world fame has made her both a leader and a target for critics. Her influence on the world stage has been described by The Guardian and other newspapers as the “Greta effect”. She received numerous honours and awards including an honorary Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, inclusion in Time’s 100 most influential people, being the youngest Time Person of the Year, inclusion in the Forbes list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women and two consecutive nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. Thunberg believes that humanity is facing an existential crisis because of global warming and holds the current generation of adults responsible for creating the problem.
Thousands of young and old farmers have blocked roads leading into New Delhi for more than two months, sheltering in tractors from the cold. A tractor rally by farmers last week in New Delhi turned violent. Police responded by shutting down the internet, digging ditches, driving nails into roads and topping barricades with razor wire to prevent farmers from entering the capital again. In a democratic country, the protest and demonstration in support of their demands is justified and this is constitution-provided right too, but when a demonstration becomes a cause of trouble for the government, then all kinds of foul plays are played to prove them wrong by authorities.
Since most of the TV studios in North India are in Noida, Delhi and Gurgaon, are hell bent on hiding the truth and showing what is convenient for the government. In such crises social media has become boon, Farmer’s voice is reaching across the globe. These farmers are getting the support of almost all anti-BJP people, political parties and other organizations. While political organizations are engaged in securing their political loaves, other NGOs and anti-national organizations are engaged in fulfilment of their vested interests under the guise of this movement. Whereas the government is trying to act smart by assigning their IT cell goons to attack the participants and supporters of farmer’s agitation.
Amid such tug of war, Rihanna, the famous pop singer said in a Twitter post, “Why aren’t we talking about this?!” sharing a CNN article on the demonstrations with her 100.9 million followers on the platform, using the hashtag #FarmersProtest. Rihanna, one of the world’s biggest celebs, has a new fan club – the agitating farmers are thrilled that Rihanna has tweeted support of their cause. How do I know that Rihanna is the big new favourite on the playlist at the camps? Rihanna was not the only one. Greta Thunberg, teenage climate change activist, and lawyer Meena Harris, niece of US Vice President Kamala Harris, have also tweeted support for the agitating farmers in the last 12 hours. The Ministry for External Affairs at a press conference reacted by saying, “Some vested interest groups have tried to mobilise international support against India. Well their statement did not go well with social media activists and they further exposed the Prime minister and his government.
The farmers say the government’s offer to keep the laws on hold for 18 months while talks are held between both sides is unacceptable. The government says it will not repeal the laws but is open to hearing what changes are needed. The latest pictures arriving from camps, though, of farmers being virtually blocked into their sites, speak volumes of how far apart the two sides remain. The Ministry of Home Affairs ordered the shutdown of internet services in the border areas of Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri, while the Haryana government has cut off connectivity in seven districts at least until Wednesday. Rihanna’s tweet received many positive responses, including one from the Kisan Ekta Morcha handle, which acts as the online voice of the protesting farm unions. “Glad! Thanks @rihanna for expressing your concern towards the ongoing farmers protest. Hope that the masses stand by the truth, the whole world can see but why can’t the government??” it said. Others asked why many Indian celebrities had not expressed their support for the farmer’s movements.
At least one Indian celeb took exception to Rihanna’s tweet. “No one is talking about it because they are not farmers they are terrorists who are trying to divide India, so that China can take over our vulnerable broken nation and make it a Chinese colony much like USA…Sit down, you fool, we are not selling our nation like you dummies,” tweeted Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut who has been outspoken about her support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and her disdain for the protesting farmers. The 32-year old Rihanna is a native of the Caribbean island nation of Barbados, though she has lived in the United States since 2003.
The statement gives away just how big an embarrassment the international support is for the Modi government – in the last few days, the internet has been switched off in some locations around the protest camps, spikes have been embedded into roads, and concrete barriers have been stacked up, all to impede the farmers’ agitation. On Monday, Twitter blocked over 250 accounts of those tweeting about the farmers with a hashtag that was apparently objectionable to authorities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is known for his dexterous use of social media, as are many of his party leaders and ministers. After the riot in Delhi on January 26, where a section of those who entered Delhi with hordes of farmers turned on the cops and attacked them, the farmers’ movement lost some of the goodwill it had earned in the nearly two months since thousands of farmers, camped at three locations near the capital, demanding that the government cancel three laws that they claim leaves them as easy prey for big corporate. In particular, they feel the laws will remove the minimum support price for their produce given by the government. The government and its supporters say the laws contain reforms that will provide farmers with huge new opportunities. Eleven rounds of talks between farmer reps and ministers made no progress. With every passing day – my opinion keeps swinging from one way to another. It is really hard to predict what is going to be the future of this agitation.
