LIVE: BJP MP Mast claims farmers' protests backed by anti-India elements

The farm unions representing tens of thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, who have launched a mass agitation on the borders of the national capital, are demanding that the government scrap three laws approved by Parliament in September.

The farmers’ protest against the three contentious bills entered day 52 on Sunday. In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court on Saturday the Bhartiya Kisan Union has urged the Supreme Court to remove the three members of a panel constituted by the top court to resolve the impasse between the protesting farmers and the Union government over the new farm laws.

The union has requested appointment of a former Supreme Court judge along with farm leaders of protesting farmer unions to the panel.

The ninth round of discussions between the government and farm unions on Friday ended in a deadlock with the next round set for January 19. During the meeting, union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar urged the farmers to be flexible and asserted that the government has been accommodative and has already accepted several demands. Like several earlier rounds of discussions, the farm unions demanded that the government commit to complete rollback of the laws.

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• Jan 17, 2021 11:00 PM IST

  Congress says NIA notices will not affect farmers

  Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala claimed that the probe agencies are being used by the government against the farmers. "Now the government sends notices to farmers of the country from such agencies probing terrorists. What is the intention of the (Narendra) Modi government, after it dubbed farmers as terrorists, Naxals and agents of China and Pakistan? What are you trying to probe Modiji?" the lawmaker from Punjab was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

• Jan 17, 2021 10:33 PM IST

  UP CM Yogi says govt committed towards doubling farmers' incomes

  UP CM Yogi Adityanath while inaugurating Strawberry Mahotsava in Jhansi said that his govt is committed towards doubling farmers' incomes. He said that PM Modi will turn this vision into reality, PTI reported.

• Jan 17, 2021 09:16 PM IST

  BJP MP Virendra Singh Mast says protests were backed by anit-national elements

  BJP MP Virendra Singh Mast said that there were anti-national powers who were backing the protests against the farm laws. "Some anti-national powers are active behind the farmers, who are protesting against the farm laws. The protesting farmers do not have faith in the judiciary and the executive," Mast was quoted as saying by PTI.

• Jan 17, 2021 08:55 PM IST

  Taranjit Singh Tony leads protests in Jammu

  District Development Council (DDC) member Taranjit Singh Tony led protests against the new farm laws in Jammu.

• Jan 17, 2021 08:53 PM IST

  Karnataka Congress leaders to march towards Raj Bhavan on Jan 20

  Congress leader and former deputy chief minister G. Parameshwara said that the party will hold a protest march towards Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru on January 20 to show solidarity with farmers protesting at Delhi's border.

• Jan 17, 2021 07:48 PM IST

  Tomar requests farmers to change stance on laws

  Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar urges protesting farm leaders to give up their "stubborn" stand on new farm laws and come for a clause by clause discussion, ahead of 10th round of talks scheduled on January 19

  — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 17, 2021

  The agriculture minister on Sunday said that farmers should come for a clause by clause discussion on issues related to farm laws.

• Jan 17, 2021 06:14 PM IST

  Farmer unions allege that NIA filing cases against those supporting the ongoing protest against agri laws

  NIA has started to register cases against those who are a part of the farmers' movement or those who have lent their support to it. All farmers' unions condemn this. We will fight this in every possible way: Krantikari Kisan Union chief Darshan Pal.

• Jan 17, 2021 05:42 PM IST

  Farmers will carry out tractor parade with national flag on Outer Ring Road of Delhi on Republic Day: Yogendra Yadav, Swaraj India

  Farmers will carry out tractor parade with national flag on Outer Ring Road of Delhi on Republic Day. No disruption will be caused to the official Republic Day ceremony: Yogendra Yadav, Swaraj India.

  
  

• Jan 17, 2021 03:01 PM IST

  I think agitation will continue: Rakesh Tikait, Spokesperson Bhartiya Kisan Union

  If a few lakh farmers are camping at the borders of Delhi, why is the government not repealing the farm laws? I think the agitation will continue: Rakesh Tikait, Spokesperson Bhartiya Kisan Union in Nagpur.

• Jan 17, 2021 02:13 PM IST

  Farmers leave from Ludhiana for Delhi to participate in a tractor march

  Farmers leave from Ludhiana for Delhi to participate in a tractor march.

  "We will organise a tractor rally in the national capital on January 26. There will be around 1 lakh tractors in the rally," says a farmer

• Jan 17, 2021 01:38 PM IST

  'What did you do in power': Union home minister questions Congress

  I would like to ask Congress leaders who are talking in favour of farmers, why didn't you give ₹6,000 per year to farmers or made Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana or amended ethanol policy when you were in power? Because your intention was not right: Union home minister Amit Shah

• Jan 17, 2021 01:32 PM IST

  Amit Shah in Bengal : Narendra Modi government is committed to working for the welfare of farmers

  Narendra Modi government is committed to working for the welfare of farmers. The three farm laws will help farmers' income increase manifold. Now farmers can sell agriculture produce anywhere in the country & the world: Home minister Amit Shah in Bagalkot, Karnataka

• Jan 17, 2021 01:12 PM IST

  Union agriculture minister Tomar says proposal sent to farmer unions on mandis, registration

  Union Agriculture Minister NS Tomar said, "We had sent a proposal to farmer unions in which we agreed to address their apprehensions regarding mandis, traders' registration and others. Govt also agreed to discuss laws on stubble burning & electricity but unions only want repeal of the laws."

• Jan 17, 2021 11:16 AM IST

  All India Kisan Sabha distances itself from proposal to reconstitute SC panel on farm laws

  Distancing himself and his union from the proposal to reconstitute the Supreme Court's committee on farm laws All India Kisan Sabha's General Secretary, Hannan Mollah, on Sunday said the proposal was not his organisation's idea, and it has not presented any suggestions to the court. "Our joint farmer unions under the ages of All India Kisan Sangarsh Coordination Committee never decided like that (proposal to reconstitute the Supreme Court's committee and replace members with neutral views). We have not gone to the court, nor given such new suggestion. This is not our idea," Mollah told ANI.

• Jan 17, 2021 10:03 AM IST

  To avoid jams, Haryana farmers say will start for Delhi on Jan 20

  To avoid long jams on roads, a large number of farmers plan to move to Delhi borders as early as January 20 to participate in the “tractor parade” planned for Republic Day. Farm outfit leaders estimate the participation of almost one lakh tractors from Haryana alone, with as many as 7,000 villages despatching several vehicles.

• Jan 17, 2021 09:33 AM IST

  Chidambaram slams NITI Aayog for rejection of RTI on farm laws

  Citing this as the reason, the RTI request of Ms Anjali Bhardwaj for a copy of the report has been rejected!
  
  Alice would have said “curiouser and curiouser”
  
  I salute Ms Anjali Bhardwaj for her tenacity and single-minded pursuit of information

  — P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) January 17, 2021

  Citing NITI Aayog's rejection of activist Anjali Bhardwaj's Right to Information Act (RTI) request regarding the information on farm laws, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday slammed the government body for the delayed actions. In a series of tweets, Chidambaram quoted Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and called government actions "curiouser and curiouser" (stranger).

• Jan 17, 2021 09:19 AM IST

  Sukhbir Badal condemns NIA summons to farm union leader

  Strongly condemn Centre's attempts to intimidate farmer leaders & supporters of #KisanAndolan by calling them for questioning by #NIA & ED. They aren't anti-nationals. And after failure of talks for the 9th time, it's absolutely clear that GOI is only trying to tire out farmers. pic.twitter.com/3x5T8VNdph

  — Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) January 16, 2021