The Congress also hit out at Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who defended the three new farm laws and criticised the Opposition while speaking in Rajya Sabha.

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday extended support to the countrywide ‘chakka jam’ called by farmer unions on February 6, saying party workers will stand shoulder to shoulder with farmers in their protest.

The Congress also hit out at Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who defended the three new farm laws and criticised the Opposition while speaking in Rajya Sabha. Whatever the agriculture minister said was “not only totally bereft of facts” but also “grossly objectionable”, the party claimed.

Farmer unions on Monday had announced ‘chakka jam’ on February 6 when they would block national and state highways for three hours in protest against the internet ban in areas near their agitation sites, harassment allegedly meted out to them by authorities, and other issues.

Congress general secretary (organisation), KC Venugopal, said the party fully supports the farmers’ movement and appeals to the government to climb down from the “high horse of false and misplaced pride”, and accede to the justified demands of the farmers by repealing the three farm laws.

On February 6, when the farmer organisations will hold a three-hour nationwide ‘chakka jam’ from 12 pm to 3 pm in a non-violent and peaceful manner on the national and state highways, the Congress will extend its full support to farmer groups, Venugopal said in a statement.

He said that Congress workers in solidarity with the protesting farmers will stand shoulder to shoulder in this “symbolic and Gandhian” way of protest. Venugopal noted that farmers’ organisations have already exempted emergency and essential services from this protest. “Joining in the spirit, Congress workers will take full care that the ambulance services, school bus, elderly, patients and women and children are not inconvenienced due to the bandh call,” he said.

Venugopal said that this farmers’ movement, which is being steadfastly supported by the poor, farm labour, SCs, STs, OBCs as well as every “right- minded Indian”, is not only aimed at protecting agriculture and farming but also saving the public distribution system.

“However, the power drunk Modi government is trying every mean trick of the trade to tire out and defame the protesting millions. Even today, the Union Agriculture Minister (Narendra Singh Tomar), while speaking in the Parliament, blatantly tried to mislead the House and the nation,” Venugopal alleged.

It is public knowledge that the farmers’ organisations have held eleven rounds of talks with the government during which they provided point-wise detail of the deficiencies and lacunae in the three laws, “consequent to which even the government has openly agreed to bring about as many as 18 amendments to the said laws”, he said.

“In the light of this, whatever the agriculture minister said today in Parliament is not only totally bereft of facts but is grossly objectionable,” Venugopal said.

Intervening in the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar alleged that farmers were being misled by the Opposition and the agitation was only in one state.

Hitting out at the government, Venugopal alleged, “Driven by the sole motive of benefiting its corporate cronies and steamrolling the laws by the brute force of parliamentary arithimatical majority, the government neither consulted the opposition parties nor took any farmers organisation in confidence, before enacting the laws.”

Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh demanding the rollback of the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

The protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations. However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture.

​These services were suspended in erstwhile state hours before scrapping of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

J&K government spokesman and Principal Secretary (Power & Information), Rohit Kansal announced the decision to restore high-speed mobile internet.

“4G mobile internet services being restored in the entire J&K,” tweeted Kansal.

After Kansal’s tweet, J&K Home Secretary Shaleen Kabra issued an order lifting restrictions on mobile and fixed landline internet. Restrictions on mobile internet speed were lifted after taking inputs from security forces and police, read the order. 

The Home Department has directed mobile internet service providers to provide access to the subscribers. The decision brought smiles back on the faces of people.

“4G Mubarak! For the first time since Aug 2019 all of J&K will have 4G mobile data. Better late than never (sic),” tweeted former J&K Chief Minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah.

Former IAS officer-turned-politician Shah Faesal, who quit politics after release from detention last year, said restoration of 4G internet is a positive development.

People from all walks of life including students, doctors, professionals, government employees, journalists and businessmen have welcomed restoration of high-speed internet. 

NEW DELHI: Drone cameras were deployed at Tikri border on Saturday to monitor the law and order situation in the wake of ‘chakka jam’ call by the farmer unions who were protesting against the farm laws for over two months at the national capital’s border.

Farmers on Monday announced a countrywide ‘chakka jam’ on February 6. Due to that heavy police personnel deployed across Delhi-NCR including Shahjahanpur (Delhi-Rajasthan) border.

Around 50,000 personnel of Delhi Police, Paramilitary and Reserve Forces deployed in Delhi-NCR region to maintain law and order situation here. At least 12 metro stations have also been put on alert, police said.

“Around 50,000 personnel of Police, Paramilitary and Reserve Forces deployed in Delhi-NCR region. At least 12 metro stations in the national capital have been put on alert for closing the entry and exit, in view of any disturbance,” Delhi Police said.

Meanwhile, security across Delhi tightened today with the deployment of extra forces, putting up multi-layered barricades and barbed wires on the roads ahead of the proposed ‘chakka jam’ by farmer unions.

Heavy deployment of police personnel seen at Red Fort, as a preventive measure to dispel actions resulting from the calls for ‘chakka jam.’

Police along with the barricading measures at the Minto Bridge area deployed. The area has been blockaded as a peremptory counter-measure to thwart the calls. Barbed wires placed over police barricades seen in Delhi’s ITO area.

Farmers have been protesting at different borders of the national capital since November 26 last year against the three newly enacted farm laws: Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. 

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to comedian Munawar Faruqui in a case lodged at Indore in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

A bench headed by Justice R F Nariman also issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh Government on Munawar’s plea challenging the high court order refusing to grant regular bail to him.

In the proceedings conducted through video conferencing, the bench, also comprising Justice B R Gavai, also stayed the production warrant issued against the comedian in a separate case lodged in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

Faruqui and four others were arrested on January 1 following a complaint by a BJP MLA’s son that alleged objectionable remarks about Hindu deities and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were passed by him during a comedy show at a cafe in Indore on New Year’s day. One more person was arrested subsequently.

The high court, in its order passed on January 28, had refused to grant him bail noting that to “promote harmony” is one of the constitutional duties.

Mumbai: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday decided to leave benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4 per cent but maintained an accommodative stance, implying rate cuts in the future if need arises to support the economy hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The benchmark repurchase (repo) rate has been left unchanged at 4 per cent, Governor Shaktikanta Das said while announcing the decisions taken by the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

Consequently, the reverse repo rate will also continue to earn 3.35 per cent for banks for their deposits kept with RBI.

He said MPC voted for keeping interest rate unchanged and decided to continue with its accommodative stance to support growth.

The central bank had slashed the repo rate by 115 basis points since late March 2020 to support growth.

This is the fourth time in a row that MPC has decided to keep the policy rate unchanged. RBI had last revised its policy rate on May 22 in an off-policy cycle to perk up demand by cutting interest rate to a historic low.

The 27th meeting of the rate-setting MPC with three external members — Ashima Goyal, Jayanth R Varma and Shashanka Bhide — began on February 3. This is the first meeting of the rate setting panel after the Budget 2021-22, announced this week, projected a nominal GDP growth rate of 14.5 per cent and a fiscal deficit of 6.8 per cent for the financial year beginning April 1.

The government moved the interest rate setting role from the RBI Governor to the six-member MPC in 2016. Half of the panel, headed by the Governor, is made up of external independent members.

MPC has been given the mandate to maintain annual inflation at 4 per cent until March 31, 2021, with an upper tolerance of 6 per cent and a lower tolerance of 2 per cent.

Ghaziabad: For all the global uproar the farmers’ movement against the new agri laws has caused, the man at its centre seems oblivious of the celebrity support he has been getting.

Rakesh Tikait, the 51-year-old Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader from the hinterlands of Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh, welcomed the support from international artistes and activists, including Rihanna and Greta Thunberg, but acknowledged he does not know them.

Talking to the media at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border on Thursday, Tikait, who is credited with reviving the agitation that appeared to be flagging after the January 26 violence in Delhi, sought to know who these people were.

“Who are these foreign artistes?” Tikait said exhibiting unawareness when asked about the foreigners supporting the farmers’ movement.

When informed about American pop-singer Rihanna, adult star Mia Khalifa and Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, the Sisauli-born Tikait responded: “They may have supported us, but I don’t know them.”

“If some foreigner is supporting the movement, then what is the problem. They are not giving us or taking anything away from us,” he said.

Commenting on a futile attempt of 15 members of Parliament to reach Ghazipur and meet protestors on Thursday, the BKU national spokesperson said the MPs should have sat on the ground on the other side of the barricading where they were stopped by the Delhi Police.

“A barricading has been set up here. They had to come, but they should have sat down there itself. They would have been on the other side and we on this side (of the barricades), he said.

Tikait said he did not have any talk with the 15 MPs who had tried to come to Ghazipur to meet the protestors. They were also not allowed to speak to the protestors, he added.

The 15 MPs from 10 Opposition parties, including the SAD, the DMK, the NCP and the Trinamool Congress, wanted to meet protestors at Ghazipur. Members of the National Conference, the RSP and the IUML were also part of the delegation.

Parliament member and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who coordinated the visit, said the leaders were not allowed to cross the barricades and reach the protest site, where thousands of farmers are camping since November with a demand that the government repeal the new agri-marketing laws enacted last September.

The farmers protest at Ghazipur, Tikri and Singhu at Delhi borders have now attained global spotlight with prominent international celebrities and rights activists talking about the stir.

In its pushback, the government said the facts on the issue must be ascertained before rushing to comment on it, and asserted that the “temptation” of sensationalist social media hashtags and views is “neither accurate nor responsible”.

New Delhi: Republic TV reporter and prime show anchor Vikas Sharma passed away on Thursday night. His demise news has sent shock waves across the media industry.

According to the Republic network, the anchor died due to COVID-19 complications.

Vikas is one of the prime reporters of Republic TV and he appears as prime time anchor at 9 PM on Republic Channel.

Reportedly, he took his breath at around 9 pm, the Republic Bharat report said.

Meanwhile, many personalities from the media industry and R Bharat’s audience are offering their condolences to Vikas Sharma’s untimely death.

Chennai: England captain Joe Root won the toss and elected to bat in the first Test against India at the M A Chidambaram stadium here on Friday.

For India, veteran pacer Ishant Sharma and seasoned left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem are back in the playing XI along with regular skipper Virat Kohli who is back from paternity break.

Star all-rounder Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Rory Burns returned to the side after missing the series in Sri Lanka while Zak Crawley misses out due to injury. England picked James Anderson over Stuart Broad in the eleven.

Root is playing the 100th Test match of his career after having made his debut during the series against India in 2012.

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishab Pant (wk), R Ashwin, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Shahbaz Nadeem.

England: Joe Root (captain), Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Ollie Pope, Dan Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Jofra Archer, Dom Bess, James Anderson, Jack Leach.

Ghaziabad (UP): A Bharatiya Kisan Union official here lodged a complaint on Thursday alleging that some miscreants had opened a fake Facebook page of farmer leader Rakesh Tikait and posted obnoxious photos on it.

A complaint along with screenshots of the page were sent to Kaushambi police station officials, BKU press cell in-charge Shamsher Rana told PTI adding that an acquaintance had informed him about the fake ID.

Superintendent of Police (City 2) Gyanendra Singh said action would be initiated as and when police would receive the complaint in writing.

Rana had received a friend request from the fake ID and got alerted as he was already connected with Tikait on the social networking site, the complaint stated.

Going through the fake ID, Rana saw that the BKU leader’s photo was affixed as the profile picture and some images of adult film actors were also seen on the page.

The IP address mentioned on the ID originates from Ludhiana district in Punjab, Rana alleged in the complaint.