It has been more than a month that the farmers’ protests are going on at the Delhi-borders, with the sixth round of talks concluding on December 30. The farmers are protesting as there are glaring loopholes in the laws which will benefit the corporate lobbyists. The laws were passed in the middle of the pandemic in a parliament which had no question hour, which many suggest was to benefit the Ambani and Adani groups who have significant operations in Agro-business and are looking forward to augment and strengthen them.

In Kerala Assembly CM  Pinarayi Vijayan moves resolution against central farm laws

On Thursday Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan moved a resolution in the state’s assembly against the three farm reforms introduced by the central government in September. The resolution was moved in a one-hour special session convened only to discuss the farmers’ protest and express solidarity with them. The chief minister said, “The current situation makes it clear that if this agitation continues, it will seriously affect Kerala. There is no doubt that Kerala will starve if the supply of food items from other states stops.”

PM-Kisan benefit money rerouted by beneficiaries to support the farmers in the protests

Last week, when PM  transferred the first tranche of funds under the PM-Kisan Yojana directly to farmers’ accounts, little did he know that these very funds would be ploughed back to sustain the protests being held on the outskirts of New Delhi. On December 24, Rs 2000 each was directly credited to the accounts of 9 crore farmers. This was the first part of the Rs 6,000 annual package to be given to farmers under the Union Government’s mega-outreach plan.

A majority of villagers who received this money were quick to transfer it to the accounts of those protesting along Delhi’s borders.

Satbir Singh Sultani, general secretary, Punjab Kirti Kissan Union, led the way by donating Rs 2,000 to the community kitchen at Singhu and said, “We have enough funds to sustain ourselves. But then every bit counts.”

Sultani said that he had received reports that hundreds of villagers were donating money received under the Central Government scheme to ensure ration at the kitchens did not run out.

From the Dorangla village, located near the international border, Septuagenarian Hardyal Singh, said that he had transferred the money to his son’s account who is protesting in New Delhi.

“On the one hand, we are fighting a proxy war instigated by Pakistan, but on the other our own PM is waging a bigger war against us. We do not need his money. We have better ways to keep the agitation going,” he said.

Sehaj Pal Singh Randhawa, a law student hailing from Khunda village, near Dhariwal, said that he had been part of the Delhi protest for the past 15 days and was amazed at the farmers’ resolve to go in for a protracted battle.

Rajasthan CM Gehlot slams Centre over Farmers’ stir ‘Farmers forced to welcome New Year out on roads’

Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot castigated the Centre for not resolving the issues of farmers by saying that farmers were forced to welcome New Year out on the roads.

Gehlot tweeted, “It is sad that our farmer brothers and sisters, who are protesting would welcome New Year out on roads and away from homes. A sensitive, responsive government would never let this happen.”

As farmers’ protest enters Day 36, Chilla, Ghazipur borders of Delhi remain closed

The ongoing farmers’ protest entered Day 36 on Thursday. As farmers continue to camp at Delhi’s borders demanding a repeal of the three farm laws, the capital’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh remained closed at multiple points on Thursday. On Wednesday, a small breakthrough was achieved during talks with the government as Centre agreed to accept two demands of farmers.

The borders with Uttar Pradesh at Chilla and Ghazipur remained closed on Thursday for those coming from Noida and Ghaziabad.

Commuters coming into Delhi from Uttar Pradesh were advised to take routes passing through Anand Vihar, DND, Loni DND and Apsara borders which have remained mostly unaffected.

The traffic at these borders is also slow as police continues to check these border points for groups of protesting farmers who may try to enter the capital.

For borders shared between Delhi and Haryana, the routes passing through Singhu, Tikri, Auchandi, Piau Maniyari, and Saboli and Mangesh have continued to remain closed.

The traffic police said that they have been diverting traffic from Mukarba and GTK Road. Motorists can choose other border routes such as the Delhi-Gurgaon and Delhi-Faridabad stretches between the two states to travel on.