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Farmers to resume Delhi Chalo’ march today security beefed up in city borders

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New Delhi: The Delhi Police has beefed up security in the national capital on Wednesday and directed its personnel to ensure strict vigil at Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur borders after protesting farmers announced to continue their ‘Delhi Chalo’ agitation.

The move came a day after the protesting farmers rejected the Centre’s proposal to buy pulses, maize and cotton crops through government agencies at minimum support price (MSP) for five years, and announced to continue with their agitation.

Traffic was hit on Delhi-Gurugram, Delhi-Bahadurgarh and several other roads after heavy deployment was made to ensure law and order.

In the fourth round of talks with the farmer leaders on Sunday, a panel of three Union ministers proposed that government agencies would buy pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP for five years after entering into an agreement with farmers. Farmer leaders refused the proposal, saying it was not in favour of farmers.

Delhi Police officials said security personnel deployed at the three borders were on Tuesday asked to stay on alert. They said commuters might face traffic congestion.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the “Delhi Chalo” march.

Protesting farmers and Haryana police personnel clashed at the Punjab-Haryana border near Amabala on February 13.

The two border points of Delhi and Haryana – Tikri and Singhu – are sealed with the heavy deployment of police personnel and paramilitary forces and multi-layered barricades of concrete and iron nails. Two lanes of the Ghazipur border have also been shut with multi-layer barricades and police personnel.

An official said if required, the Ghazipur border may also be shut on Wednesday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer) Jimmy Chiram said there was sufficient deployment of the force, besides paramilitary personnel, at the Delhi-Haryana borders.

Another officer said the Delhi Police was prepared to stop the farmers at the Delhi borders. Security personnel have been directed to not allow even a single protester or vehicle to enter Delhi, he said, adding that mock security drills were conducted.

The Delhi Police has already stocked up 30,000 tear gas shells.

The officer said that checking vehicles on various roads leading to the central part of Delhi may lead to traffic congestion on Wednesday.

Nine of wedding party killed in truck-tempo collision in Lakhisarai district in Bihar

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LAKHISARAI: At least nine people were killed and several injured after a truck and a tempo collided head-on in Bihar’s Lakhisarai district in the wee hours of Wednesday, police said.

The incident took place at Biharaura village along Lakhisarai-Sikandra main road.

The tempo, which was carrying around 15 passengers, was coming from the opposite direction at the time of the collision, police added.

Among the deceased are Veer Paswan, Vikas Kumar, Vijay Kumar, Dibana Paswan, Amit Kumar, Monu Kumar, Kisan Kumar, and Manoj Goswami, with most of them hailing from Munger.

The accident took place around 3am on the Lakhisarai-Sikandra main road. While nine people died on the spot, several others sustained injuries. All injured were taken to the nearest government hospital”.

The victims were returning from a wedding ceremony when the accident took place, he said, adding that the driver of the truck fled the spot.

“The truck has been seized by police and investigation is on”, the SP added.

Gaza Health Ministry says over 29,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel-Hamas war

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RAFAH: More than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the territory’s Health Ministry said Monday, marking another grim milestone in the deadliest round of violence in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive until “total victory” against Hamas, raising fears that troops will soon move into the southernmost town of Rafah on the Egyptian border, where over half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere.

On Sunday, Benny Gantz, a retired general and a member of Netanyahu’s three-man War Cabinet, warned. If the hostages were not freed by the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is expected to begin around March 10.

The holy month of dawn-to-dusk fasting is often a time of heightened tensions in the region.

The Health Ministry said 107 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours. That brings the total number of fatalities to 29,092 since the start of the war. It says over 69,000 Palestinians have been wounded.

The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its records but says around two-thirds of those killed were women and children. The Health Ministry is part of the Hamas-run government in Gaza but maintains detailed records of casualties.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostages.

More than 100 captives were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November in exchange for 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Militants still hold around 130, with a fourth of them believed to be dead.

Israel responded to the attack by launching one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history on the besieged enclave, which has been ruled by Hamas since 2007.

Israel says it has killed over 10,000 Palestinian militants, without providing evidence. The military claims it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames the high death toll on Hamas because the militant group fights in dense residential neighbourhoods.

The war, which shows no sign of ending, has driven around 80% of the Palestinians in Gaza from their homes and has left a quarter of the population starving, according to UN officials.

Israel has said it is developing plans to evacuate civilians from Rafah, but it’s not clear where they would go in the devastated territory, large areas of which have been flattened. Egypt has sealed the border and warned that any mass influx of Palestinians could threaten its decades-old peace treaty with Israel.

The United States, Israel’s top ally, says it is still working with mediators in Egypt and Qatar to try to broker another cease-fire and hostage release agreement. But those efforts appear to have stalled in recent days.

Netanyahu has rejected what he says are “delusional” demands by Hamas. The militant group has said it won’t release all of the remaining hostages until Israel ends the war and withdraws from Gaza. It is also demanding the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including top militants.

Karnataka government, BJP spar over changing slogan at classroom entry

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BENGALURU: The Social Welfare Department’s decision to replace the wording at the entrance of classrooms in its schools from “This is the temple of knowledge, come with folded hands” to “This is the temple of knowledge ask without fear” resulted in ruckus in both Houses of the legislature on Monday.

Opposition BJP legislators in the Assembly and Council slammed the department for making the change. In the Council, MLCs protested in the well, demanding a detailed statement from the minister.

BJP state president and party MLA BY Vijayendra and MLC N Ravi Kumar took up the issue in the Assembly and Council, respectively, during the zero hour. Vijayendra said the Social Welfare Department principal secretary has issued directions to change the wording at the entrance of residential schools run by the department.

“With this, the government has insulted Rashtrakavi Kuvempu,” Vijayendra said. An irked Krishna Byregowda, revenue minister, said the Congress government does not need BJP for lessons on respecting Kuvempu. “It is you (BJP) who removed Kuvempu’s chapter from the textbook. Why do you bring politics here,” he questioned.

Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said Vidhana Soudha carries a slogan, ‘’Sarakari Kelsa Devara Kelasa”. “Will that also be removed? Who is he (the officer) to change the wording at the residential schools and who has given him the power,” Ashoka asked.

BJP members protested in the well in the Council when they were not allowed to discuss the issue during the zero hour. They were asked to take it up for discussion under a different provision after following the due process and Council opposition leader Kota Srinivas Poojary’s request was turned down. At one point, BJP and Congress MLCs were raising slogans against each other. The House was adjourned after the din.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka has demanded that the state government allow drilling of new borewells as the existing ones have gone dry. “We still have four months left for the monsoon and we are already facing a drinking water crisis now,” he told the Assembly. Ashoka said it’s not just people, even animals are facing a lack of water in Karnataka. With no rain, the state is facing a drought situation and underground water has depleted drastically.

“At some places, borewells are not able to pump water from even at a dept of 1,000 ft. People are forced to depend on private water tankers,” he said. Ashoka also pointed out that many experts have flagged the water crisis. “Reservoirs in the state have reached rock bottom, water is also getting evaporated and in the coming days the situation is likely to turn from bad to worse as monsoon is some four months away,” he said. The government should allow drilling of borewells in new locations. “The government should also provide Rs 10 lakh to each gram panchayat to resolve the issue,” he said.

Higher Education Minister Dr MC Sudhakar said a committee constituted by the department suggested changes in the system of grading in universities. The committee was constituted after a boy studying at a university died by suicide. The minister informed the Council that they will get a report from the Higher Education Council and see how they can bring in a uniform system in all universities. He was responding to MLC Manjunath Bhandari’s question on huge variations in marks given by different universities and the need to bring in a uniform system.

The Assembly witnessed a verbal altercation between Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and senior BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal over contractors’ association president D Kempanna’s allegation of 40% commission. “The government is not paying outstanding bills to contractors. Earlier, Kempanna had said that there is ‘40% commission’ in the current government. But it is a pity that he kept quiet and I don’t know whether he was fed with honey or jaggery,” Yatnal alleged. Shivakumar responded by recalling that Yatnal had alleged irregularities in the previous BJP government during the Covid-19 pandemic, and suggested that he speak out on the matter. This lead to a war of words between the duo with each addressing the other in the singular.

Rahul yatra draws huge crowd in UP Ameithi

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LUCKNOW: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’s UP leg reached his erstwhile traditional constituency of Amethi on Monday, drawing huge crowds. He hit out at the BJP government for “not inviting” the Dalits, backwards and even the President to the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya. “It was an insult to them,” he said.

“By inviting industrialists and Amitabh Bachchan to the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple, Modi gave the message that the country’s 73% of people have no importance,” Rahul said addressing a gathering at Lalganj Indira Chowk in Rampur Khas Assembly seat.

Continuing with his onslaught, Gandhi said that it was their (BJP) India. “This is not yours. All you do is chant ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, while all they do is have helicopter rides and make money,” he said.

Reiterating the party’s promise to provide a legal guarantee of MSP to farmers, he said: “Farmers were stopped from entering Delhi. Modi government has put barricades, and constructed walls to stop farmers. What are they demanding? All they are asking for is MSP; it is not a big thing.”

Incidentally, BJP MP Smriti Irani and Rahul Gandhi were present in Amethi on Monday. Rahul’s attack prompted the BJP MP from Amethi to challenge the former Congress chief and party’s Wayanad MP to contest from Amethi if he had the confidence to win.

The developments seem to suggest that Rahul would contest from Amethi this time.

“In 2019 he (Rahul Gandhi) left Amethi, today Amethi has left him. If he is confident, then without going to Wayanad, let him fight from Amethi alone,” said Irani. She tried to underplay Rahul’s Naya Yatra by claiming that “empty roads” of Amethi were the testimony of Rahul’s popularity.

Holding a Jan Samwad programme in Amethi as part of a four-day visit to her parliamentary constituency, Irani said that despite having won three consecutive elections from Amethi, Rahul Gandhi did very little for the constituency.

“Congress had to call workers from Sultanpur and Pratapgarh to welcome the Yatra,” Irani said. “Amethi was

distressed to note how its former representative insulted his voters in Wayanad. Also, the invite to consecration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya was rejected by him and his family. Amethi is dismayed at this also,” she said.

The Union Minister also claimed that sensing the mood of the people of Amethi where the voters went for a change in 2019, the Gandhi family decided to stay away from Raebareli ahead of the 2024 polls.

Rahul yatra draws huge crowd in UP, Irani steps up attack on Amethi pitch

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LUCKNOW: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’s UP leg reached his erstwhile traditional constituency of Amethi on Monday, drawing huge crowds. He hit out at the BJP government for “not inviting” the Dalits, backwards and even the President to the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya. “It was an insult to them,” he said.

“By inviting industrialists and Amitabh Bachchan to the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple, Modi gave the message that the country’s 73% of people have no importance,” Rahul said addressing a gathering at Lalganj Indira Chowk in Rampur Khas Assembly seat.

Continuing with his onslaught, Gandhi said that it was their (BJP) India. “This is not yours. All you do is chant ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, while all they do is have helicopter rides and make money,” he said.

Reiterating the party’s promise to provide a legal guarantee of MSP to farmers, he said: “Farmers were stopped from entering Delhi. Modi government has put barricades, and constructed walls to stop farmers. What are they demanding? All they are asking for is MSP; it is not a big thing.”

Incidentally, BJP MP Smriti Irani and Rahul Gandhi were present in Amethi on Monday. Rahul’s attack prompted the BJP MP from Amethi to challenge the former Congress chief and party’s Wayanad MP to contest from Amethi if he had the confidence to win.

The developments seem to suggest that Rahul would contest from Amethi this time.

“In 2019 he (Rahul Gandhi) left Amethi, today Amethi has left him. If he is confident, then without going to Wayanad, let him fight from Amethi alone,” said Irani. She tried to underplay Rahul’s Naya Yatra by claiming that “empty roads” of Amethi were the testimony of Rahul’s popularity.

Holding a Jan Samwad programme in Amethi as part of a four-day visit to her parliamentary constituency, Irani said that despite having won three consecutive elections from Amethi, Rahul Gandhi did very little for the constituency.

“Congress had to call workers from Sultanpur and Pratapgarh to welcome the Yatra,” Irani said. “Amethi was

distressed to note how its former representative insulted his voters in Wayanad. Also, the invite to consecration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya was rejected by him and his family. Amethi is dismayed at this also,” she said.

The Union Minister also claimed that sensing the mood of the people of Amethi where the voters went for a change in 2019, the Gandhi family decided to stay away from Raebareli ahead of the 2024 polls.

SP offers 17 seats to Congress for lokh sabha

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Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav

LUCKNOW: Uncertainty looms large over the INDIA alliance of the opposition bloc in Uttar Pradesh, with a seat-sharing pact between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress for the Lok Sabha still being a distant dream. Moreover, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is reportedly skipping Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, saying that he would join Gandhi only after the seat-sharing pact between the two parties gets sealed.

Akhilesh was to join the yatra in Rae Bareli on Tuesday. Earlier on Monday, the SP offered 17 seats to the Congress, calling it the final offer to the grand old party. Notably, the negotiations between the two parties had been going on with Congress initially demanding 25 seats but then scaling it down to 21. However, the SP does not want to spare more than 17 seats for its ally.

Last month, the SP chief unilaterally announced 11 Lok Sabha seats for the Congress in UP. Caught off guard, the baffled leadership of UP Congress said that the seat-sharing talks with the SP were still on and the central leadership would take the final decision.

Later, the SP released the first list of candidates for 16 seats, including many like Lakhimpur Kheri and Farrukhabad, which the Congress had demanded. Meanwhile, on Monday, immediately after offering 17 seats to the Congress, the SP released a second list of 11 party candidates for the polls. It covered at least three seats, which the Congress was demanding.

Dealing a blow to the INDIA bloc in the state, RLD president Jayant Chaudhary recently decided to part ways and switch over to the ruling NDA.

However, the support of the SP in Amethi and Rae Bareli is significant for the Congress as it has been winning both seats over the past few decades, banking upon the former’s support. SP and BSP have not been fielding their candidates in Amethi and Rae Bareli in support of the Congress for the last few elections to check the division of votes.

Magisterial probe ordered into looting of arms from IRB camp in Manipur

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Imphal : The Manipur government has ordered a magisterial probe into the looting of arms from an India Reserve Battalion (IRB) camp at Chingarel in Imphal East district on February 13 to “ascertain the facts and circumstances leading to the incident”.

An order issued by the Home Department on Sunday said “an unfortunate incident occurred on February 13 in which a mob mostly youths stormed the camp of 5th IRB located at Chingarel Tezpur and snatched away arms and ammunition leading to a confrontation between mob and security forces involving exchange of fire at the spot.”

As per the order, District Magistrate Imphal East Khumanthem Diana has been appointed as the Enquiry authority to “ascertain facts and circumstances” leading to the incident and to “suggest remedial measures to avoid recurrence of such incidents in the future.”

The enquiry report is to be submitted to the government in 30 days from the date of issue of the order.

Six persons were arrested by police for their involvement in the looting of arms incident. Seven IRB personnel were also suspended.

Police have so far recovered four Insas rifles, one AK Ghatak 2, magazines of SLR and sixteen small boxes of 9mm ammunition suspected to be looted from the IRB camp.

The Manipur government on Sunday had also ordered a magisterial inquiry in connection with a recent mob violence in Churachandpur district over the action taken against a policeman.

At least two people were killed and 30 injured in firing by security forces on February 15, after a mob barged into a government complex housing the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police offices, torched vehicles and ransacked property, hours after the suspension of a head constable.

“The state government is of the opinion that it is necessary to institute a magisterial inquiry to ascertain facts and circumstances leading to the crimes/violence/vandalism/arson of seditious nature and loss of lives, intimidation and threats to the lives of the DC and SP, Churachandpur…” an official order said.

The probe would “ascertain the facts and circumstances leading to loss of lives and properties” and “suggest remedial measures to avoid recurrence of such incidents in the future”, it said.

Head constable Siamlalpaul was placed under suspension after a purported video of him with “armed men” went viral on social media.

The inquiry report should be submitted within 30 days, the order said.

Govt-farmer leaders meeting ends; Centre proposes 5-year plan to buy pulses, maize at MSP

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Chandigarh: A panel of three Union ministers on Sunday proposed the buying of pulses, maize, and cotton crops by government agencies at minimum support prices for five years after entering into an agreement with farmers.

Speaking to the media after a more than four-hour-long meeting with farmer leaders here, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the “innovative” and “out-of-the-box” idea came up during the discussions.

The minister said the farmer leaders will decide on the proposals put forward by the government by Monday morning.

“Cooperative societies like the NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers Federation) and NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) will enter into a contract with those farmers who grow ‘tur dal’, ‘urad dal’, ‘masoor dal’ or maize for buying their crop at MSP for next five years,” said Goyal.

“There will be no limit on the quantity (purchased) and a portal will be developed for this,” he added.

It will save Punjab’s farming, improve the groundwater table, and save the land from getting barren which is already under stress, Goyal, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, said.

He also proposed that the Cotton Corporation of India buy cotton from farmers at a minimum support price (MSP) for five years after entering into a legal agreement with them.

“We also want the cotton crop to be revived in Punjab. Whosoever farmer revives cotton or sows it, the CCI will enter into a legal agreement and whatever crop comes from the field through diversification will be bought for five years at MSP,” said Goyal.

A panel of Union ministers held the fourth round of talks with farmer leaders here on Sunday over their demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP, as thousands of protesting farmers were camping at the Punjab-Haryana border.

Goyal, along with Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai reached the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26 for the talks.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also joined the meeting.

The Union ministers and farmer leaders had met earlier on February 8, 12 and 15 but the talks remained inconclusive.

Delhi CM Kejriwal skips sixth ED summons

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New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will not appear before the Enforcement Directorate on Monday for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy, the AAP said.

Terming the agency’s sixth summons to its national convener as “illegal”, the party said that the ED should wait for the court’s decision instead of repeatedly sending summonses to Kejriwal.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had approached a city court after Kejriwal skipped multiple summonses.

On Saturday, the court had granted exemption to Kejriwal from personal appearance for the day in connection with the complaint filed by the central agency.

The application moved by Kejriwal’s counsel stated that the Budget Session of the Delhi assembly has commenced on February 15 and shall continue till the first week of March.

He will physically appear before the court on the next date of hearing on March 16, it said.

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