Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar has invited farmer unions for discussion at 3 pm today citing cold and coronavirus, as hundreds of farmers started trickling in from Punjab to join the protesters at two borders of Delhi. The ongoing protests by thousands of farmers against the Centre's new farm laws entered the fifth day on Monday, with the protestors threatening to block all five entry points to the national capital. Rejecting the Centre's offer to hold talks once they move to the Burari ground, the farmers said they will not accept any conditional dialogue and have called a meeting to discuss their next course of action later in the day.
Farmers, who had reached Nirankarai Samagam Ground in Burari on Saturday, continued their protest there. Traffic continued to be disrupted in the city due to the protests. Taking to Twitter, the Delhi Traffic Police on Monday alerted commuters to take an alternate route since Singhu and Tikri borders continued to remain closed.
A meeting of over 30 farmer groups was held to discuss Amit Shah's offer for talks before the scheduled date of December 3 once they move to Burari in the city, but the thousands of protesters had refused to budge and spent another night in the cold at the Singhu and Tikri border points. Their representatives had said that Amit Shah's condition that they shift the protest is not acceptable and claimed Burari ground is an "open jail".
Over the last five days, thousands of farmers, braving water cannons, tear gas and barricades of the Haryana police, have reached the borders of Delhi. While some of them have managed to enter the city, the rest are sitting at the border areas, saying they are ready to do what it takes to see the end of the three farm laws passed by parliament earlier this year.
Here are the Highlights of the farmers' protest:
The Congress on Monday launched a social media campaign to muster support for the farmers protesting against the centre's new farm laws with party leader Rahul Gandhi saying, when farmers raise their voice, it resonates across the country.
#LeftRightCentre | "Protesters are not angry, they are hopeful that the government will listen to them": Jasbir Jassi, Punjabi Singer#FarmersProtest pic.twitter.com/1ZjzAhil8S
- NDTV (@ndtv) November 30, 2020
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar has invited farmer unions for discussion at 3 pm tomorrow citing cold and coronavirus, as hundreds of farmers started trickling in from Punjab to join the protesters at two borders of Delhi. Farmers' organisations said more farmers from Amritsar region who had stayed back to celebrate Gurpurab -- have left, are likely to be at the border by Tuesday. The protesters have threatened to block five entry points to Delhi. Earlier today, Union minister Amit Shah met Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar the second meet within 24 hours after farmers protesting against the farm laws rejected the Centre's proposal of early talks after shifting their protest venue.
Several Punjabi singers, including Sidhu Moosewala and Babbu Maan, have lent their support to farmers who are protesting against the Centre's new farm laws at Delhi's border points for the last five days, reported news agency PTI. Besides Sidhu Moosewala and Babbu Maan, singers Kanwar Grewal and Harf Cheema have also joined the stir. Mr Moosewala, who reached the Tikri border on Monday, said that the government must address the concerns of the protesting farmers. He also said that a large number of farmers from Punjab have assembled at the Singhu and Tikri borders of the national capital and claimed that the people of Haryana too have extended immense support to the farmers' movement.
Amid farmer protests, PM Modi defends centre's laws, says farmers will have freedom to sell crop for better prices.
The supply of vegetables and fruits to the city from other states has been impacted and it has been halved at Azadpur Mandi, one of Delhi's largest wholesale market, owing to the protest by farmers at the Singhu and Tikri border points of the national capital for the last five days, reported news agency PTI. Vendors in other parts of Delhi said due to curtailed supply, the wholesale rates of seasonal vegetables has gone up by Rs 50- Rs 100. They said the roadblock at Singhu and Tikri border has also impacted supply of vegetables and fruits from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Extending his support to the farmers gathered at Delhi's borders protesting against the Centre's new farm laws, Haryana MLA Sombir Sangwan on Monday tendered his resignation as chairman of the State Livestock Development Board, reported news agency PTI. Mr Sangwan is an Independent MLA supporting the BJP-JJP coalition government in the state. In his letter to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, he said, "I have resigned from my post in support of farmers. Like the entire country, farmers from my assembly constituency Dadri are also protesting against these laws. In this situation, extending my full support to them is a priority for me and my moral duty too."
Farmers at the Tikri border near Delhi-Bahadurgarh highway celebrated #Gurpurab by lighting candles across the cement blocks that have been placed as barricades to stop them. pic.twitter.com/fyqprv8jZa
- NDTV (@ndtv) November 30, 2020
Delhi Police Commissioner SN Srivastava arrives at Singhu border where farmers are protesting against new farm laws.
Farmers protesting against the Centre's new farm laws at Delhi border points on Monday said they have come to the national capital for a "decisive battle" and asserted that they will continue their agitation until their demands are met, reported news agency PTI. Addressing a press conference at the Singhu border, a representative of protesting farmers said that they want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to listen to their "mann ki baat".
Tractor-trolleys and key farm equipment have turned into temporary shelters for thousands of farmers who have assembled at the borders of Delhi to protest against the Centre's new farm laws, reported news agency PTI. As temperatures have dipped, the farmers demanding that the laws be repealed are spending the chilly nights inside their tractor-trolleys covered with tarpaulin, which they have turned into temporary shelters. Most of the farmers have brought at least two trolleys with each tractor with one of them carrying ration and other essentials and the other being used to accommodate the protesters.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said the Centre should allay fears among the protesting farmers that the new agriculture laws was aimed at doing away with the system of minimum support price or that it would adversely affect the procurement of produce, reported news agency PTI. Nitish Kumar, whose JD(U) is a constituent of the BJP-led NDA, also sought to clear misconceptions over the farm legislation that allows sale of produce outside APMC markets, and pointed towards the state's own experiment with the abolition of these.
The protest by thousands of farmers who have stayed put at various border entry points to Delhi for the fifth consecutive day today, protesting against the Centre's new agriculture reform laws may act as a "superspreader" event for coronavirus, experts said, reported news agency PTI. The national capital is already witnessing a spike in COVID-19 cases post Diwali amid rising pollution levels.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the farmers' protest, while inaugurating a new highway in Varanasi, that has entered its fifth day today. Thousands of farmers are protesting against the new Farm Laws, camping outside and blocking the five entry points to Delhi. Over the last five days, thousands of farmers, braving water cannons, tear gas and barricades of the Haryana police, have reached the borders of the national capital. While some of them have managed to enter the city, the rest are sitting at the border areas.
साहिब श्री गुरु नानक देव जी ने हमें मानव सेवा की सीख दी थी, उनके उपदेश का पालन करते हुए हमें अपने अन्नदाताओं की भी सेवा करनी है जो अपने हक़ की लड़ाई लड़ रहे हैं
- Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 30, 2020
सभी दिल्लीवासियों से मेरी अपील है कि दिल्ली आए किसान भाईयों की खूब सेवा करें। pic.twitter.com/aysjNLLRpx
Traffic congestion at Delhi-Gurugram (Haryana) border in view of #FarmersProtest.
- ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2020
DCP South-West, Ingit Pratap Singh says, "We haven't received any inputs on farmers coming here. We are taking precautionary measures and preparing for the same at both Singhu and Tikri border." pic.twitter.com/JRivic29N1
A medical check-up camp has been set up at the Singhu border (Delhi-Haryana border) where farmers are protesting against the Central farm laws. The volunteer doctors at the camp have urged the Central government to conduct a COVID-19 test among protesters due to the health protocols not being followed at the protest site. "We should conduct COVID-19 test here. If there is any possibility of a super spreader, the disease might spread to other people which will be disastrous," said Dr Karan.
Delhi: Medical check-up camp setup at Singhu Border where farmers are protesting against the farm laws.
- ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2020
"We should conduct COVID-19 test here. If there's any possibility of a super spreader, the disease might spread to other people which will be disastrous," says a doctor. pic.twitter.com/QwFoqSADh4
कृषि कानून पर गलतफहमी ना रखें। पंजाब के किसानों ने पिछले साल से ज्यादा धान मंडी में बेचा और ज़्यादा #MSP पर बेचा। MSP भी जीवित है और मंडी भी जीवित है और सरकारी खरीद भी हो रही है।
- Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) November 30, 2020
मोदी सरकार ने किसान पर अत्याचार किए- पहले काले क़ानून फिर चलाए डंडे लेकिन वो भूल गए कि जब किसान आवाज़ उठाता है तो उसकी आवाज़ पूरे देश में गूंजती है।
- Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 30, 2020
किसान भाई-बहनों के साथ हो रहे शोषण के ख़िलाफ़ आप भी #SpeakUpForFarmers campaign के माध्यम से जुड़िए। pic.twitter.com/tJ8bry6QWi
Delhi: Farmers continue their protest at Ghazipur-Ghaziabad (Delhi-UP) border against the farm laws amid security deployment. pic.twitter.com/MhuDgiOhhQ
- ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2020