Archives for September 2020

Farmers across the country are saying that these laws will end them, Kejriwal added.

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday targeted the government over the passage of the “dangerous” farm Bills without division of votes in Rajya Sabha, while lauding the sit-in protest on the Parliament premises by the eight suspended MPs.

The eight Rajya Sabha members, including AAP MP Sanjay Singh, were suspended for the remaining part of the Monsoon Session over “unruly behaviour” during the passage of the farm Bills in the Upper House of Parliament.

The other MPs are Derek O’Brien (TMC), Rajeev Satav (Congress), Elamaram Kareem (CPI-M), K K Ragesh (CPI-M), Syed Nazir Hussain (Congress), Ripun Boren (Congress) and Dola Sen (TMC).

Since their suspension on Monday, the eight MPs have been holding a protest on the Parliament premises.

Kejriwal said these eight MPs were fighting for the rights of farmers without worrying about heat, mosquitoes or other inconveniences and have spent the night protesting in the Parliament complex.

“They are not asking for anything for themselves. They are fighting for democracy and the Constitution. They are struggling for the farmers of the country,” Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

Farmers across the country are saying that these laws will end them, he added.

“Such a dangerous Bill was passed without division of votes. Then what is the meaning of Parliament, what is the meaning of elections? If you have to pass the law this way, then why did you call a Parliament session,” Kejriwal asked in another tweet in Hindi.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia compared the present government to the British colonial rulers.

“The British ruled the same way. They would commit atrocities on the farmers, labourers and businessmen. They would make black laws to perpetuate the atrocities. And when they met Gandhiji and other leaders, they (the British) would offer them tea. Our rulers are running the government in the same way still,” Sisodia said in a tweet in Hindi.

He was referring to Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Singh offering tea to the protesting MPs in the morning.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi showered praises on Harivansh Singh for the gesture, saying his “inspiring” and “statesmanlike” conduct will make every democracy lover proud.

Responding to Modi’s tweet, Sanjay Singh said he was “humbly” returning the tea and requesting the government to return the farmers’ morsels.

“We are not fighting for our tea. We are fighting for the morsels of our farmers which you have taken away

NEW DELHI:: The eight MPs suspended for continuing with their protests against farm bills inside the Upper House who had spent the night on the lawns of Parliament in protest had a visitor in Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh who arrived with morning tea for them.

Harivansh met the suspended Rajya Sabha MPs who had spent the night on the lawns near the Gandhi statue in the Parliament premises. He was seen sitting on the ground and having tea with the MPs.

The MPS were earlier suspended by Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu for “unruly behaviour” with deputy chairman Harivansh Singh.

On Monday, Venkaiah Naidu announced the one-week suspension of Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen, Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Sanjay Singh, Congress’ Rajeev Satav, Ripun Bora and Syed Nasir Hussain, CPI (M)’s KK Ragesh and Elamaram Karim for “unruly behaviour” with the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman on Sunday during the passage of the farm bills.

On Sunday Rajya Sabha witnessed unruly scenes as Opposition members stormed the well and reached the deputy chairman’s seat to protest against the Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and passed by the Upper House through voice vote.

Both the Bills were earlier passed by Lok Sabha through voice votes. 

G Kishan Reddy said as informed by the National Crime Records Bureau, many states and UTs have reported “nil” data on suicides by farmers.

NEW DELHI:The government on Monday said many states and Union Territories have not provided details of farmer suicides and hence, the national data on the causes of suicide in the farming sector is “untenable” and cannot be published.

Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said as informed by the National Crime Records Bureau, many states and UTs have reported “nil” data on suicides by farmers, cultivators and agricultural labourers after several validations, even while reporting suicides in other professions.

“Due to this limitation, national data on the causes of suicide in farming sector was untenable and not published separately,” he said in a written reply.

According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data on accidental deaths and suicides, 10,281 farmers committed suicide in 2019, down from 10,357 in 2018.

The suicide rate in the farming sector accounted for 7.4 per cent of the total suicides in the country — 5,957 farmers and 4,324 agricultural labourers, the NCRB said in the report containing the latest data.

Institutes have been reluctant in blaming the pandemic in their official communication, when asking lecturers to go on long leave or sacking them or cutting their pay.

BENGALURU:  “We have been surviving by God’s grace,” said Rajesh K (name changed), a faculty member of a private engineering college in the city. “However, not everyone is fortunate enough to have a secondary source of income. I have a PhD and have been living with a 40 per cent pay cut since April. Several female lecturers with the same qualification have quit,” he said.

Lecturers of private colleges who were facing a difficult situation with AICTE’s rules in 2018-19 to increase the student ratio to teacher, thereby reducing the number of lecturers per college, are facing a double whammy with Covid-19, they say.

“The pandemic has been a convenient excuse to sack lecturers and cut salaries in several engineering colleges. Institutes have been reluctant in blaming the pandemic in their official communication, when asking lecturers to go on long leave or sacking them or cutting their pay.

The Local Inspection Committee that assesses the institutes also took cognizance of the alarming salary and job situation. Lecturers wrote to the AICTE, to the Chief Minister and Prime Minister’s Office. Yet, the situation on ground remains unchanged,” said Rajashekar, president, Engineering Colleges Faculties Association.

They have sought a Government Order against dismissal of lectures by private colleges amid the pandemic and have demanded full salary. “A majority are in the post of ‘assistant lecturer’ . The government should at least pay the stipulated pay that the AICTE has outlined, for the months of July and August.

Every year, lecturers from private institutes are denied salaries as this is the vacation period. This year the number of such cases has increased,” a college lecturer said. “This year, engineering colleges started cutting pay from April itself. How are we to absorb such economic shocks,” the lecturer said.