by Farmers during the Kishan Mahapanchayat at Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, in protest against the new farm laws, on Friday, February 5, 2021. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)Delhi Farmers Protest Live Updates: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait Friday said that the ‘Chakka Jam’ (blockading of roads as a form of protest) planned on February 6 will not take place in Delhi, but will be done in other parts of the National Capital Region and the rest of the country, including the southern states.
“Dilli mein hum nahi kar rahe, wahan to raja ne khud qile-bandi kar li hai humare jaam karne ki zaroorat hi nahi hai (We are not going to do anything in Delhi, the king there has already fortified it, there is no need for us to do a blockade now),” he said, taking a veiled jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the fortification of the protest sites at Ghazipur, Tikri and Singhu, PTI reported.
Meanwhile, after the US State Department backed the Centres contentious new farm laws but flagged the internet restrictions in and around protest sites, the Ministry of External Affairs said that the violence at Red Fort on Republic Day evoked similar sentiments in India as the recent siege on Capitol Hill.
Addressing the issue of internet restrictions, the government said that it was done to prevent further violence. The temporary measures with regard to internet access in certain parts of the NCR region were therefore understandably undertaken to prevent further violence, it added.
Wary of the protracted farmers agitation in the capital and the Republic Day incident at Red Fort, the Punjab government has stepped up efforts to reach out to the Centre to work towards an early resolution, sources told The Indian Express. Some top state officials have been camping in Delhi and are in constant touch with both the protesting farmers and the Centre.
Also, the Shamli district administration has denied permission for the fifth mahapanchayat in west UP at Bhainswal village on Friday, citing unruly behaviour by farmers at the tractor rally in Delhi on Republic Day and violation of Covid guidelines by protesters.
Fifteen MPs from 10 opposition parties were stopped by police from reaching Ghazipur border to meet protesting farmers. (PTI Photo)
The BJP on Thursday said the support of some foreign celebrities to the farmers protesting against the three new farm laws was an attempt to “destabilise the country” and said that the Indian democracy “doesn’t need foreign certificate”. This comes after teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, pop singer Rihanna and several people from the international community came out in support of the farmers.
Opposition parties on Thursday slammed the government for its handling of the ongoing farmer protests. They accused the government of digging trenches and putting up spikes, where bridges should have been built to win over farmers, PTI reported. TMC leader Derek O’Brien pressed the government to repeal the three laws and offered a ‘Repealing Bill 2021’ drafted by him for the purpose.
A delegation of Opposition leaders was stopped from reaching the Ghazipur border Thursday morning to meet the farmers who have been protesting against the Centre’s contentious new farm laws. The delegation included NCP MP Supriya Sule, DMK MP Kanimozhi, SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and TMC MP Saugata Roy.
