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Update on Farmers’ protests: members of BJP flee out of hotel to avoid wrath of farmers- protests range from breaking barricade to standing in metal chains

Farmers’ protests

The protests of farmers are growing stronger day by day with an increasing number of farmers pouring in from various states, like from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, and Bihar.

Hotel picketed in Punjab

In Punjab’s Phagwara, a group of scared and cornered BJP leaders slipped out (ratted out) through the backdoor under police protection on Friday after farmers protesting the central government’s new agricultural laws picketed a hotel that they were holding an event in. Demonstrators from the Bharti Kisan Union (Doaba) protested at the hotel where the BJP leaders were observing the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The protesters claimed that the hotel was owned by a BJP activist who also ran a company that supplied cattle and chicken feed. They said that they will boycott the company’s products. Led by the union’s vice president Kirpal Singh Mussapur, several demonstrators held a protest outside the hotel and surrounded the BJP leaders and workers who had managed to get inside before the farmers began their agitation.

The police also added that the protesters also did not allow several BJP activists, including Bharati Sharma, district president of BJP’s Mahila Wing, to go inside the hotel.

Those who had gone inside had to slip out one by one from the hotel’s backdoor under police protection to save themselves from the wrath of the protesters. They included BJP district and block presidents Rakesh Duggal and Paramjit Singh Pamma Chachoki and former mayor Arun Khosla.

Mr Mussapur alleged that the BJP leaders were conspiring against the farmers and working on propaganda. The protesters also raised slogans against the current central government and union minister Som Parkash who belongs to Phagwara.

Farmers drive tractors over barricade

Farmers protesting the central government’s Farm-laws clashed with the police in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district on Friday, with dramatic footage showing the demonstrators running a tractor over a barricade as dozens of policemen try to hold them back.

A video posted on Twitter showed a large crowd of protesters facing off with the police. A few protesters driving a green tractor charge at a barricade, running it down and forcing the policemen to finally get out of the way.

Farmer-unions indicate resumption of dialogue & to again meet on government’s fresh talks offer-SAD calls out the callous and insensitive attitude of GOI

Protesting union leaders alleged after PM’s speech that it was an attempt to ‘divide and mislead’ farmers. On Friday, the protesting farmer unions met to discuss the government’s latest letter inviting them for talks, with some of them indicating that they may resume their dialogue with the Centre to find a solution to the deadlock over the contentious agri-laws. The unions said that they will hold another meeting on Saturday where a formal decision on the Centre’s invitation is likely to be taken. An official in the Union ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare said that the government was expecting the next round of talks to take place in the next two-three days.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday said that the Centre should stop defaming farmers and hold talks with them on ways to repeal its contentious agriculture laws. The SAD president, in a statement, said that the central government is exhibiting a “callous and insensitive attitude” towards the suffering of farmers who are braving the severe cold wave conditions at Delhi borders. “It almost seems that the government wants to punish the farmers for raising their voice against the three agricultural marketing laws which were forced through in the last parliamentary session. This is the reason why the centre has adopted a policy which is aimed at tiring out the farmers,” the SAD leader said.

Kabil singh’s protests against slavery of farmers

Kabil Singh’s tall body was bound by heavy metal chains and his fists clenched all through from morning to evening for the last 18 days. He is a farmer from Fazilka in Punjab and he has been standing facing the main stage at the Singhu Border agitation site while portraying himself as the symbol of the “slavery” that the farmers have been fighting.

The metallic chain, a medium-sized lock and a few iron nuts and bolts attached to them weigh around 5.5 kilos, said the 42-year-old Kabil Singh. He said that he has been standing at the same place and in the same position from 7am to 7pm everyday for the last 18 days even as farmers and other visitors to the site flock to take selfies with him. “I will take this position until the black farm laws are repealed or until I drop dead,” said Singh, his fists still clenched.

He said that he decided to be the symbol of a silent bound farmer amidst the loud speeches being delivered in front of him from the stage located about 100 metres from him.

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Update on Farmers’ protests: The Protests gather steam with support from various quarters of the country-After Maharashtra, TN, farmers from Bihar come onboard

farmers

As GOI gets cornered and tries to divert the attention from the main issues, the farmers are getting stronger and more determined in their stance, assertions and demand of repealing of the three farm laws. Some of the latest developments in the protests are listed and briefly touched here.

Bihar farmers set to join farmers’ protest in Delhi after BKU president (Haryana), Chaduni visits Patna

A visit to Patna by Haryana Bhartiya Kisan Union president Gurnam Singh Chaduni to meet farmer leaders seems to have further brought Bihar in sync with the ongoing protests. Chaduni visited Patna on Monday. With farmer leaders intensifying efforts to make the ongoing stir pan-India agitation against three farm laws, the farmer groups from Bihar have announced to move to Delhi from January 8. The farm-leaders shifted focus to Bihar after getting huge support from Punjab, Haryana, parts of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra & Tamil Nadu.

Soon after his visit, Bihar Kisan Manch president Dhirendra Singh Tuddu announced that farmers will hold a three-day protest in Patna from January 5 before moving to Delhi in trains. Explaining the reasons behind focus on Bihar, Chaduni said, “People of Bihar understand the entire matter. We want the agitation to spread in Bihar because the example of “Bihar model” is cited by BJP leaders in favour of new laws. That is why the association of Bihar farmers with this agitation has special importance. We are receiving a lot of phone calls from farmer leaders of Bihar and hope that the agitation will pick up in the state soon despite the fact that there are only small farmer organizations in Bihar.”

On GOI’s fresh letter Farmer unions ask to include repeal of new farm laws in agenda for fresh talks

Protesting farmer unions alleged on Thursday that the government’s latest letter for talks is nothing but a propaganda against the peasants and farmers to create an impression that they are not interested in dialogue and asked it to put the scrapping of the three recent farm laws in the agenda to resume the parley. Reacting to the fresh invitation, farmers on Thursday said that the MSP cannot be separated from the demand of repealing the contentious laws, asserting the issue of a legal guarantee for it is a key part of their agitation. In this regard, Centre has recently made a baseless proposition that it is not ‘logical’ to include MSP in talks.

Jannayak Janta Party leader Chautala said that changes need to be made in the agriculture laws and that written suggestions have been made to the Centre and the latter has also agreed to the same

As the farmers’ agitation against the three agriculture marketing laws continues for over three weeks, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Thursday said that dialogue between farmer unions and the government was imperative, adding that he was hopeful that talks will take place in the next few days and the stalemate will end.

“Union government is making efforts in this regard and the Supreme Court has also directed to hold talks so the leaders of 40 farmer unions who are leading these protests should participate in these talks,” Mr. Chautala said at a press conference. He further added, “Till today, no agitation has come to an end without discussions. I am hopeful that in next few days definitely there would be talks between the farmers and the Centre and it will lead to a positive outcome.”

The chief of the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which is in a coalition with the BJP, said that the farmer unions should inform the government about the amendments they propose in the new agriculture laws and should have a detailed discussion on every single point. He said that with the Centre continuously inviting the unions for talks, the leaders heading the farmer outfits should realize their responsibility towards farmers and give their suggestions to the government so that a conclusion can be reached.

Ready to mediate

In reply to a question, Chautala said that changes need to be made in the agriculture laws and written suggestions have been made to the Centre and the latter has also agreed to the same. “The Centre is ready to include the guarantee of MSP in writing, to make amendments to Electricity Amendment Bill among other demands. If the Centre gives me the responsibility to mediate on those changes that are not being included, I am ready to do the needful,” he said.

New agri laws making farmers feel insecure: Pilot

Congress leader Sachin Pilot said on Thursday that the new farm laws are making the farmers insecure. The former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan said that the Congress is working hard to ensure that the organization and the state government fulfil the promises made to the people of the state. “The centre should stop being stubborn and withdraw the farm laws with immediate effect. The farmers are feeling insecure about their future. They are very concerned,” Pilot told reporters in Pali.

Congress MLAs to reach MP Assembly on tractors on Dec 28

Madhya Pradesh Congress MLAs will arrive at the state Assembly in Bhopal on tractors on December 28 as a mark of protest against the Centre’s three new farm laws and rise in fuel prices, a party legislator said on Thursday. The three-day winter session of the state Assembly will begin from Monday. MP Congress president Kamal Nath has asked all the party MLAs in the state to reach the Congress office in Bhopal on December 28 morning.

Congress leader P Chidambaram stated in tweet that the government has effectively aborted talks

“By taking an inflexible position that the farm laws will not be repealed, the government has effectively aborted the talks before they can be resumed. Government should heed the suggestion of the Supreme Court and keep the farm laws in abeyance during the period of the talks,” tweeted senior Congress leader P Chidambaram.

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After Maharashtra, farmers from Tamil Nadu are going to join the protests at Delhi- BKU welcomes the decision

farmers

On Tuesday, a delegation of Tamil Nadu Farmers Protection Association said that hundreds of farmers from Tamil Nadu were ready to join the protest at Delhi- borders if the central government did not roll back the three farm laws.

The leaders said that hundreds of farmers from the south Indian state have planned to drive to Delhi in tractors by next week, educating people about the lapses and harms of the new farm bills on their way to join the movement in Delhi.

The 12-member delegation from Coimbatore that had come to visit the farmer-groups who have been camping at Singhu border since November 27, said that the farmers’ demands are legitimate and the central government cannot turn a deaf ear towards them.

Nalla Gounder, coordinator of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Protection Association said, that in Tamil Nadu also,  there were protests against the bills in small groups.

“Since the protest in Delhi by our farmer brothers from Haryana and Punjab is growing stronger, we want to add to the number and boost their morale. I am myself a farmer and we are well aware of the harms of the new bills. We support the demand for it to be repealed. If the government continues to act deaf towards our demands, hundreds of farmers from Tamil Nadu are ready to fuel the ongoing protest,” Gounder said.

The coordinator said that 200 farmers had booked train tickets to come to Delhi but they were stopped by the state government. He also added, “12 of us have come today by air and we ensure more our men will join in days to come.” Easan, another farmer leader who had come to Delhi from Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, said that at least 100 tractors are ready to start moving towards Delhi by next week. “On our way to the Capital by road we will spread awareness about the dangers of the new farm laws. Each tractor will have at least 10-12 farmers,” Easan said.

Welcoming the support, Harinder Singh Lakhowal, general secretary, Bharatiya Kisan Union, Ludhiana said that they were delighted to see farmers from other states coming out in support.

Lakhowal also said, “A major protest against the bill was also organized today in Maharashtra. They even contacted us and assured us of their physical presence if need be. We are delighted to have witnessed such a massive response to our movement that will benefit farmers in the India regardless of which state they come from.”

On an overall basis, the farmers’ agitation had remained peaceful on Tuesday as it completed its 27th day. The farmers at the Singhu border spent their day mostly delivering speeches from the central stage, raising anti-farm law slogans, singing songs, raising banners, cooking and distributing langars.

Senior police officers also said that their deployment at the border remained as usual. A senior police officer from Singhu border said, “The protest remained peaceful on Tuesday with no untoward incident reported from any part of the Delhi’s borders where the farmers have been camping since last month. We maintained our deployment of the security personnel and the situation is being closely monitored.”

With regards to the farmers’ protests, a Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi would meet  the President on December 24 to submit around two crore signatures collected from across India.

A relay hunger strike has begun as farmers harden their stance amid protests that began late November around Delhi borders. After five rounds of negotiations failed, the government had asked the protesting farmers to choose a date for the next round of talks. The relay hunger strike is the third major national event staged by the farmers after a countrywide shutdown earlier this month, which was backed by opposition parties and trade unions, and last week’s hunger strike by farmer leaders.

Farmer groups have also appealed to those in Bihar and other states to join the agitation to further pressurize the government to repeal the three contentious farm laws. Meanwhile, thousands of farmers have started off from Maharashtra to join the protest at Delhi borders where farmers from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh have been camping for weeks. Shiromani Akali Dal, a former NDA ally, has demanded an emergency Parliament session to annul the new laws. The LDF government in Kerala has decided to convene a special session on Wednesday to pass a resolution against the farm laws.

As the farmers from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are gathering to support the protests, the GOI is getting gradually cornered over the contentious farm laws.

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Farmers from Maharashtra to join the huge protests at Delhi borders led by All India Kisan Sabha & AIKSCC

The farmers’ protest is turning out to be the biggest movement in human history to the chagrin of BJP. Lakhs of farmers, opposing the anti-farmer and pro-corporate laws introduced by the Modi government, are continuing their protests at the borders of the national capital for more than 20 days. The protests have attracted the attention of leaders around the world and has triggered debate in the Supreme Court.

Ignored by the Union government and refused entry to the capital by the Delhi Police, these farmers, mostly from Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, are to be joined by thousands of farmers from Maharashtra, who have decided to strengthen the agitation by marching to Delhi.

AIKSCC & AIKS to lead the movement from Maharashtra

The farmers from Maharashtra, under the banner of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, an umbrella body of over 250 farmers’ organizations and one of the faces behind the current mobilization at the capital, converged at Nasik on December 20. From there, they will begin marching on December 21(today) led by Dr Ajit Nawale, secretary of the Maharashtra unit of All India Kisan Sabha. The farmers will be joined by AIKS national president Ashok Dhawale at the borders of the capital, where the protesting farmers have been camping.

Dhawale said, “The farmers’ march from Nasik to Mumbai had brought down the arrogance of the Bharatiya Janata Party. No other government in the history of India has fired tear gases on farmers and drenched them in the middle of winter. But these tricks have failed, and farmers are still on the outskirts of Delhi.”

He added that the Maharashtra farmers are fully prepared to join the ongoing historic battle in Delhi to repeal the three laws. “There will be no compromise on the fundamental demands of this agitation. The government can come up with any trick to buy time, but farmers have lots of patience. We will peacefully protest until anti-farmers laws are scrapped,” he said.

According to Nawale, around 20,000 farmers are expected to join the march in the first phase. With AIKS taking the lead in mobilizing the farmers, other organizations are also planning to join in. Members of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana will protest at the gates of Reliance Industries office in Mumbai on December 22. The protest will be augmented by various organizations including the Jan Andolanachi Sangharsh Samiti (JASS) and others.

Former MP and leader of SSS, Raju Shetti put forth a rhetoric, “We will ask Ambani how much more he wants? He has everything with him. Why is he eyeing the farms of the poor farmers? We will peacefully go to his office for the protest.”

The first meeting of state committee on the farm laws took place in Mumbai on Thursday, December 17. In this meeting, Congress leader and minister Ashok Chavan firmly registered his protest against the implementation of laws. He submitted his letter in the meeting detailing his and his party’s position on the laws.

Ashok Chavan said, “Maharashtra is a progressive state which has always protected its farmers. These laws are pushing farmers into uncertainty about their rightful incomes. In such case, the state, which is in control of agriculture as subject as per Constitution, can not allow these laws to be implemented in the state.”

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is chairman of the committee, said that the decision on the farm laws is pending. He added, “We will speak to everyone. Farmers of the state will be protected, and the state government would not allow anything which will harm their interests. We will submit the report to CM Thackeray once all the consultation processes are over.”

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Possibility of National front after SAD links with Shiv Sena and other parties from across India over Farmers’ protests

SAD and Shiv Sena discussed farm stir

The ruling party of Maharashtra, Shiv Sena extended its support to the ‘Bharat Bandh’ called on December 8 by farmer-unions which have been protesting on Delhi’s borders for more than 12 days demanding the repeal of the Centre’s new agri-marketing laws. Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai told PTI, “Shiv Sena president and CM Uddhav Thackeray is against the Central laws which are anti-farmer and anti-labour. We support the Bharat bandh.” Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Prem Singh Chandumajra had met CM Thackeray in Mumbai. He told reporters that Thackeray supported the Akali Dal’s stand on the farmers’ protest.

Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiv Sena are coming closer in order to support the ongoing farmers’ protests on the borders of New Delhi, which are going on for more than 12 days, demanding the abolition or complete repeal of the newly introduced farm laws. National Opposition parties, including various regional outfits, had also given a call for Bharat Bandh on December 8. Leaders from key political parties that form the national Opposition are expected to meet in Delhi in the next couple of weeks to discuss the course of action. Chandumajra said that Thackeray agreed with his party on the issue of the Centre’s alleged interference into the “rights of state governments” in fields like education, agriculture, and law and order. In this context, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had recently stated that there would be no NDA without the support of SS and SAD.

Nationally many parties are coming on common ground in opposition to the farm laws. SAD vice-president and former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra, had led a delegation of the Akali dal to Thackeray’s official bungalow, Varsha. He said, “We have held meetings with a few regional parties and are meeting leaders from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Telangana Rashtra Samithi, All India Trinamool Congress with the common intention of opposing the Centre’s intervention in the states’ rights. The Centre has been suppressing the rights of the states in state subjects, including law and order, agriculture, finances. In the garb of cybercrime, the Centre is intervening in law and order. By passing the farm laws, it intends to overtake the state’s powers of agriculture marketing. The goods and services tax (GST) regime has already shrunk the state’s resources. We want to collectively oppose this attempt.”

Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal has urged all Punjabi people to support the “Bharat Bandh” called on December 8 by farmer unions. The SAD chief also said that his party would work assiduously alongside the peasantry to ensure the repeal of the controversial farm laws. Political parties apart from various observers have identified many glaring loopholes in the new farm laws. Stating that “the fight for justice” had now become a fight of the “annadaata” (someone who provides food) against the central government, Badal said, “I am confident that the mass agitation will force the Centre to “bow down” before the demands of farmers.”

Former MP Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra, who led the SAD delegation, said that apart from reaching an understanding to forge a national alliance, Thackeray has in principle agreed to restore the old management system of Takht Hazoor Sahib, Nanded. Chandumajra said that the Chief Minister had agreed that the management should have representatives of Sikhs from all over the country.

Presently, only Sikhs from Maharashtra are part of the management after the previous Shiv Sena-BJP combine government had recast the membership. Chandumajra said, “Thackeray has agreed that two representatives of the SGPC should be part of the management. This was an important demand of the Sikh community in India and abroad. The CM has ordered holding of meetings next week to formalize this arrangement.”

Chandumajra said that the Shiv Sena chief was pained at the attack on federalism by the BJP government and its attempts to weaken regional parties and dethrone the regional governments. He had also met All India Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata. He said that Thackeray and Mamata Banerjee were looking forward to the new political front. SAD delegation would meet former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in the coming week. It has already met Biju Janta Dal president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

“The regional parties have to come together to save the federal system in the country and to end the dictatorial government of Narendra Modi,” said Chandumajra. The SAD and Shiv Sena were among the oldest allies of the BJP. While the SAD broke ties with the BJP in September over the farm laws intended to curb state’s powers and promote corporate lobbyists, the Shiv Sena had parted ways earlier over differences in Maharashtra polls.

“We have already held meetings with a few regional parties and are meeting leaders from DMK, TRS, TMC with the common intention of opposing the Centre’s intervention in the states’ rights. The Centre has been suppressing the rights of the states in state subjects including law and order, agriculture, finances. In the garb of cyber-crime, the Centre is intervening in law and order, by passing the farm laws it intends to overtake state’s powers of agriculture marketing. We want to collectively oppose this attempt,” Chandumajra said.

Meanwhile, the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) of Telangana, Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress, AIUDF, DMK, and many other opposition parties have extended their support to the ‘Bharat Bandh’.  Thousands of farmers are sitting on various borders of New Delhi since November 26 against the laws and have called for a ‘Bharat Bandh’ on December 8.

“If states are strong, the nation will be stronger. If states are weak, the country will be weaker. Today, the country’s political system is being centralized. The Shiromani Akali Dal is for federalism,” Chandumajra said.”Even Uddhav Thackeray is of the view that the rights of states need to be protected,” he also said.

Farmers are demanding the withdrawal and repeal 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. As the fifth round of talks between the farmers and the Centre remained inconclusive, the sixth round is scheduled to be held in Delhi on December 9.

The author is a student member of Amity Centre of Happiness

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Farmers’ protest in Delhi intensifies with a call of Bharat Bandh on December 8-farmers from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra join the protests

The farmer’s protests have spread rapidly as they receive no assurance and response from the government in terms of the debated farm laws. Today the farmers’ protest at the Singhu border completes 12 days, where they seek support from people across the country. Many have observed that at certain places at the sites of protests, there has been installation of jammers, so that the coverage of the protests cannot be transmitted. The farmers and their fellow supporters plan on blocking the highways nationwide, which would be supported by several trade unions, transport facilities, and farmers from other states.

This leads to the Bharat Bandh plan which is scheduled for December 8, Tuesday. The highway blockades, called ‘chakka jams’ will be held till 3 pm on the borders and streets of Delhi, excluding the areas where active protests are going on, said the farmers’ unions.

In response to this, a Delhi police spokesperson stated that the Singhu, Chilla, Jharoda, and Tikri borders remain closed due to the protests, and their traffic has been diverted to the Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) flyway, Palam Vihar, NH-8, and other similar borders. The spokesperson also added that the Noida and Gurugram borders would remain open until they discuss this issue with the farmers.

In addition to the borders and streets, the farmers appealed that local shops, dairies, offices, and local transport suppliers also shut down their services for a day to support their Bharat Bandh movement. However, weddings and emergency services such as ambulances will not be stopped; they assured the people.

The last round of talks between the farmers’ unions and government was non-satisfactory and inconclusive. Hence, the next round of talks which is to be held on December 9, Wednesday will be ‘non-negotiable’ as stated by the farmers, as they are determined to repeal the 3 farm laws.

As the protests are growing, farmers from UP and Tamil Nadu have also come forward to join the farmers protesting in Delhi, thus, increasing their numbers.  A group of men belonging to a political party in Tamil Nadu also cheered during the speeches in the protests every few minutes. Jagdeesh Waran, a coordinator of the Naam Tamilar Katchi political party, said, “We are also video recording the speeches so that we can get them translated later for those of us who do not understand even Hindi.”

Pooja Morey, a 30-year-old woman from Maharashtra, cheered in the protests, when a farmers’ leader delivered a speech in Punjabi from the stage in Singhu Border on the warm Sunday afternoon. Not very fluent in Hindi, Morey understands little of the Punjabi, but she said that language does not matter in this protest of national scale as the purpose is known to all.

Several medical camps and new barricades have been installed at the sites of protests, especially at the Singhu border.

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Pharma-city to come up at Raigad, Maharashtra instead of Refinery

After months of pushing the Rs 3 trillion Nanar Petrochemical Refinery Complex project in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray led government has put it into cold storage to make way for a Pharma-city. The Maharashtra government had denotified the 19,146 hectare land reserved in Raigad district by the former government led by Devendra Fadnavis for the mega oil refinery. The Shiv Sena had been adverse to oil refinery project which was coming up in Konkan with the facility to come up at Nanar. It was cleared by the central and state governments in December 2015. The refinery project was to pass through land spread across 17 villages in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. The project was to come up as a joint venture (50:50) between Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemical limited (RRPCL), and a partnership between the UAE’s National Oil Company and Saudi owned Aramco. The investors behind RRPCL are Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum. The government had started the process of land survey when it was suddenly shelved over “environmental concerns” presented by Shiv Sena.  When Shiv Sena came into alliance with BJP, it was based on the precondition of shelving of the Refinery project.

Last year, in September, the then  CM Devendra Fadnavis had said that the state government was keen on building Asia’s biggest and first green oil refinery in Konkan. He said that there was no opposition from the locals in the case of moving the refinery to Raigad in Konkan. Fadnavis had further said that the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) was developing an Integrated Industrial Cluster (IIC) at 40 villages in Alibaug, Murud, Roha and Shrivardhan tehsils of Raigad.

The land, earlier marked for the refinery is now being notified as an industrial area for industrial projects and in place of the refinery, a pharmaceutical park will come up in the location. An official of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation had stated that the projected infrastructure cost of the pharmaceutical city is Rs 2,500 crore. The minimum investment expected by MIDC in the pharma-city project is at Rs 30,000 crore.

The state government has a Bulk Drugs Park Proposal. If the centre approves the drugs proposal plan, then Rs 1,000 crore must be provided by the GOI, while the remaining funds will be arranged by the state government. The official further added that the pharmaceutical city would be completely environment friendly. The Bulk Drugs Park will produce basic raw materials such as bulk drugs, key starting materials (KSMs), drug intermediates (DI), and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that are used to produce medicines including essential medicines. The pharma-city is projected to boost domestic manufacturing of 53 bulk drugs for which the country critically depends on imports.     

The author is a student member of Amity Centre of Happiness.  

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Congress campaigner for Bihar polls, Sanjay Nirupam, from Maharashtra, gauges the impacts of the pain of the migrants on Bihar polls

Since the death of Sushant Singh Rajput almost every political party in north India has been trying to milk the issue for political gains especially prior to Bihar polls. The parties have harped on the tirade against one another in the backdrop of the SSR case before the state elections in Bihar. Sanjay Nirupam, former president of Mumbai regional congress committee, and congress campaigner (from Maharashtra) for Bihar polls commented in an interview that the underemployment and underdevelopment are the two major factors that put questions in front of Nitish Kumar. Nirupam added in his observations that Nitish Kumar had come to power promising change and development but he has done nothing in the past 15 years.

Sanjay Nirupam further added that the people of Bihar really want a change this time and that the poor man was affected the most during the Coronavirus-pandemic-induced lockdown period. The Bihar government was most apathetic, as observed by Nirupam, towards them.  Hence, they are hurt, especially the migrants, who are upset with both Nitish Kumar and the regime at the centre. With the train-services completely halted, the reverse-migration was highly adverse for the migrant workers from Bihar, many of whom died on their way back home on roads. Nirupam further stated that the returning migrants from Bihar were not even accepted to take shelter anywhere because of the fear of contracting the Coronavirus.

Sanjay went on to state that neither the centre nor the Bihar government did much for them, hence their pain will surely come out in the form of votes against BJP and Nitish.  The migrants would vote against those in power. The BJP and Nitish will certainly face the brunt of this as there is a wave of seething anger that is waiting for the right time to be expressed. Nirupam added that this time Modi-factor would not matter, as it will not protect Nitish Kumar from the rage of the migrant workers, because this is a state election. This is the first election in post-covid time and the voters will remember his/her past 6 months which gave a lot of pain in his/her existential struggle. Sanjay further added that the economic front is very disappointing on an overall scale which would add to the impact on the voting pattern.

He further elaborated that this election is going to be tough for every political party which will participate and mainly for BJP due to Modi’s lockdown policies and his carelessness in handling the migrant workers’ issues. Hence, Nitish Kumar will not get the protection in the name of BJP. Nirupam further added that all know that Nitish came to power on the promise of development but under his governance, Bihar’s per capita GDP has only reduced and as a result became the lowest in the country. The unemployment rate has risen as even now the migrations have not stopped indicating a major failure of the current government of Bihar.

Sanjay added that in the post-covid induced lockdown period, there has been continuing reverse migration with people coming back to Bihar, while the state government reacted most irresponsibly.  In fact, the Nitish government did not want people to come back, which was symbolized when neither the centre nor the state government took any steps to restart the train services. This caused the migrants to be left on their own. Subsequently, people were forced to walk for days, take auto, or cycle to reach back homes. Nirupam further commented that the Bihar government had the worst record when it came to helping migrants.

Sanjay in one of his concluding remarks added that the congress is a party with an internal democracy and that it has tied up with RJD, as the number two party, for the Bihar polls using the issues of underdevelopment and underemployment. He further added that the confusion created by the nature of the alliance structure between the LJP, BJP and the JD(U),  in which  LJP ‘s Chirag claims that he is the hanuman for Modi, along with the anger of the migrants will give a serious blow to the JD(U), as the voters seek clarity.

The author is a student member of Amity Centre of Happiness.

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Need for Shiv Sena to gain entry into Bihar Politics- is it due to SSR issue or due to workers coming from Bihar

As soon as the election commission announced the dates for Bihar elections, the Shiv Sena of Maharashtra announced its ‘son of the soil’ agenda for the Bihar polls. It becomes prudent to observe the political backdrop of entry of the Shiv Sena into Bihar polls because of three reasons.

The first reason is that recently the country saw a national spat in the “justice for SSR” wagon, where Shiv Sena, BJP and the Bihar formed the three sides of the conflict. People from Bihar, including fans of Rajput, kept demanding for justice for Sushant Singh. This nationally escalated debate becomes significant due to two causalities: Sushant was from Bihar, and he was from a higher caste category; and caste plays a crucial role in identity politics in Bihar. This SSR issue led to spilling of the nexus among players in different B-town scams. These scams are of various types like nepotism and talent management schemes in Bollywood. It also hinted at a subsurface fight between the ShivSena and the regime at the centre which played out in the provision of Y category security for Kangana Ranaut. In this whole issue, Kangana Ranaut came as the face of the lobby calling out for ‘justice for SSR’. Some suspect that she was nothing but the empathy gatherer for the BJP among the Bihar’s populace, while others believe that she has just been exposing the internal fiascos in Bollywood. All of this led to an aggravating relationship between the Shiv Sena and the Hindi heartland people, especially in Bihar.

The second reason is the pressing issue of Shiv Sena which stresses on the need to employ predominantly the local Marathi youth in any projects or works which are being developed in the state outside the core strategic sectors controlled by the GOI. This idea has been the cradle of the ShivSena and its more assertive spin-off, the MNS. It has been observed by certain sections of media that the ShivSena might be looking towards Bihar to bring development there, so that youth from Bihar need not go to Maharashtra.

The third reason is the need for political consolidation over the larger national political battleground in a time when anti-incumbency protests are gaining grounds across the nation especially after the farm bills 2020. Farmers unions in Maharashtra are majorly owned and controlled by NCP and Congress, which shrinks the moral ground for the SS to fight on this issue. ShivSena might have an undeniably strong hold over the overall politics of Maharashtra but they have marginal presence beyond the state with only 12 seats in the current Lok Sabha from the state.

In this background, the Bihar Unit of Shiv Sena wanted to contest on 100 seats in the upcoming Bihar polls. But sources inside SS indicated that the party will contest on around 50 seats in the state polls. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray had declared that he would campaign for the Shiv Sena candidates in the Bihar polls. The party has recently released a list of 22 leaders who would campaign in Bihar.

On the larger national politico-psychological map, though the Shiv Sena has parted ways with BJP, it is still adherent to certain similar core principles like BJP, which cannot be unseen if one listens to their speeches or reads their articles in Saamna. It can very certainly be the case that BJP and SS have decided to keep the balance of power hidden between New Delhi and Mumbai which will disallow any third party to take advantage of the equation. But this thought does not have that much weight given that the government in Mumbai is being run by an alliance of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress which allowed the ShivSena to get its own CM. Giving away the seat of CM to Shiv Sena was specifically denied by BJP which was one of the reasons of the breaking of the BJP- SS alliance. Also recently, the country witnessed the tussle between the Governor of the Maharashtra, who is allegedly aligned with BJP, with the Maharashtra CM over keeping the temples open. The CM made a sound decision of keeping the temples closed keeping in mind that the state is still under the grasp of the Covid19, on which the governor took a jibe.

Probably to keep a hold over the home bastion in Maharashtra, the ShivSena made a compromise and to some extent diluted their ideological stance. This was indicated when the Apex court of the country gave the Ayodhya verdict in November 2019. At that time, Uddhav Thackeray stated that Hindus should celebrate but without hurting anybody’s sentiments.

By making its entry in the Bihar’s political space, it wants to highlight how the JD(U) has been unable to bring development to the state of Bihar, which drives countless of people from Bihar to work in other states as migrant workers and labourers.  This is a kind of applying the ‘son of the soil’ ideology in an inverted format over Bihar. It must not be forgotten that as dates for the Bihar polls were announced by the Election commission of India, the SS had declared that it would begin its campaign for the Bhoomiputra. It is visibly trying to be the part of an alliance which will bring development in Bihar so that the state’s youth need not go to Maharashtra and take space in the employment domains in cities like Mumbai, Nagpur, and Pune. In that case, it can be expected that it would keep its options open in terms of the party with which it sides.

With regards to the confrontation with Kangana over the justice for SSR; this might not have been part of the main deciding calculus for trying to gain entry in Bihar. To what extent this angle has influenced the entry of SS into the Bihar electoral polity would be better understood after  the polls, especially regarding what positional stance SS takes with respect to BJP in the would-be formed Bihar Assembly. At that point of time, if it sides with BJP, that might indicate that Kangana was probably being used as a pawn by the BJP to distract the public from the burning national issues through the SSR issue.

Participation of the ShivSena in the Bihar polls opens up remarkable head turning possibilities given that the mix has parties like Congress, BJP, LJP, RJD, JD(U) and other smaller parties with varied perspectives on Hindutva agenda, Caste factors and development.

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Maharashtra Energy Minister, Nitin Raut points to the possibility of sabotage after power failure in Mumbai

Mumbai was without power for about two hours on Monday. It was told that the power supply in the city was disrupted due to grid failure in the Mumbai metropolitan area. In this regard, recently, the state’s Energy Minister, Nitin Raut had said that the reason behind this may possibly be sabotage.

The Minister of Energy had said that the possibility of sabotage and fraud in the power supply disruptions in Mumbai, Thane, and Navi Mumbai on Monday cannot be ruled out. Nitin Raut said that a technical committee is being formed and that they will conduct a technical audit to check if there was a case of deliberate disruption or vandalism of any kind and who was responsible for it. The interim report will arrive within a week. Then action will be taken immediately based on the interim report. The various works around the city came to a significant standstill on Monday mid-day after the power supply was disrupted in the city.

The grid failed in the Mumbai metropolitan area at around 10.15 am on Monday, due to which electricity supply was disrupted in the city. Local train services were also affected due to power failure. Local trains were parked at their then-current locations. Due to this people had to face trouble during their commute and work.

Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport said that the power supply in the country’s financial capital was disrupted after the failure of the supply from Tata power supply. Several incidents of tripping of lines and transformers (Kalawa-Padghe and Khargar ICT) affected the 360 MW supply in the city and suburbs. After the Monday Power failure in Mumbai, the Maharashtra government has ordered a grid failure investigation to be carried out.