DM Monitoring
NEW DELHI: Maharashtra minister Jayant Patil took a dig at the Centre on the ‘World Sleep Day’ on Friday, asking how to wake up the “Kumbhakarna government” to issues like farmers’ stir, fuel price rise and job losses.
The state NCP (National Congress Party) chief also alleged that more than 300 farmers have died in the ongoing protest against the three new central farm laws.
“More than 300 farmers have lost their lives in the protest. Thousands of youngsters are losing jobs every day. Petrol, diesel, LPG rates are the highest ever and the financial condition of country is in the ICU. How to wake up the Kumbhakarna sarkar? #WorldSleepDay,” Patil, who is Water Resources Minister, asked on Twitter.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday urged the Centre to leave its ego, scrap the three farm reform laws and bring in new legislations after fresh discussions with farmers. Singh was addressing the media on the completion of four years of his government.
“Bring new bills after discussion with farmers. Sit with them, talk to them and then bring a new bill. Why are you sitting on prestige and ego,” he asked the Centre. Referring to the amendment bills passed by the state assembly last year to “negate” the Centre’s farm laws, Singh said, “We will go to the Supreme Court if the President does not give assent to the state amendment bills.”
Amid protests by Congress members, the Haryana Assembly yesterday passed a Bill that will allow authorities to recover compensation from violent protesters for any damage to property.
As Speaker Gian Chand Gupta was completing the process to pass the Bill by a voice vote, some Congress members rushed to Well of the House demanding its withdrawal.
“Bill vapas lo, vapas lo,” the MLAs chanted. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Home Minister Anil Vij rejected the Congress accusation that the decision to bring the Bill was linked to the farmers’ agitation, on now for months over the legislation enacted at the Centre.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh BJP working committee member Ram Iqbal Singh on Thursday said there would have been no agitation by farmers had the Centre consulted them before enacting the new agricultural laws. He also urged the government to bring a law guaranteeing the minimum support price (MSP) for farmers.
Thousands of farmers are camping at Delhi’s border points in Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur to demand that the Centre repeal the three farm laws that were enacted in September last year and make a new law guaranteeing MSP for crops. Speaking to reporters here, Singh said the Modi government should have consulted the farmers before enacting the new agricultural laws.
Had the farmers been taken into confidence by the government before bringing these laws, there would have been no agitation over the issue, he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Intensifying their agitation against the three farm laws, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha met with different mass organisations to strategise for their ‘Sampurna Bharat Bandh’ on March 26.
Addressing a press conference, Ranjit Raju of Ganganagar Kisan Samiti said that during the nationwide strike on March 26, which also marks four months of the farmers’ movement, all shops and other business establishments will remain shut for 12 hours.
On March 28, the protestors will burn copies of the three laws during ‘holika dehan’, he added. “The strike will start from 6 in the morning and will continue till 6 in the evening, during which all shops and dairies and everything will remain closed.
“We will burn the copies of the three laws during Holi and hope that better sense prevails in the government, and it repeals the laws, and gives us a written guarantee for MSP,” Raju said.
Meanwhile, a top American Senator urged US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to take up with the Indian leaders the issue of India’s plan to purchase Russian S-400 missile defence system and concerns on human rights issues during his visit to New Delhi this week.
Austin, the first-ever US defence secretary to include India on his maiden foreign trip, is scheduled to meet his counterpart Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit K Doval, during his New Delhi visit from March 19 to 21.
While democracy and human rights issues do not come under the domain of the Pentagon, Menendez urged Austin to raise these concerns with Indian leaders.
The Indian government’s ongoing crackdown on farmers peacefully protesting new farming laws and corresponding intimidation of journalists and government critics only underscores the deteriorating situation of democracy in India, Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote in a letter to Austin.
