Farmers face
They said they would resume the march from Shambhu on Wednesday.
Chaos reigned supreme near the border as farmers deployed tractors to remove cemented blocks which had been placed as part of the barricading by the Haryana police on the Ghaggar river bridge to prevent them from marching forward. However, the Haryana police said tear gas shells were being used to control the situation as protestors were pelting stones at police personnel.
As a thick blanket of smoke from tear gas shells enveloped the border area, farmers were seen dousing the smoke by putting wet jute sacks on the shells to reduce the impact.
“Stones were pelted at Haryana police by protesters. To control the situation, tear gas shells are being used,” said a Haryana police spokesperson.
“No one will be allowed to create disturbance. Those doing so will be dealt with strictly,” the spokesperson said, asserting that “the situation is completely under control”.
In Haryana, 64 companies of paramilitary personnel and 50 from the state police were deployed across the districts.
Farmer leaders were heard asking the protestors to use wet clothes to minimise the impact of the tear gas shells.
Despite an appeal by the Haryana police to the protesting farmers to stay away from the barricades, many youths continued to stay put and stood over the barricades, officials said.
The police also used drones to hurl tear gas shells, apart from using them to keep vigil on the crowd of protesters.
Protesting farmers slammed the Haryana government for hurling tear gas shells and said they were determined to march towards Delhi to press the Centre to accept their demands.
Several groups of farmers had assembled at the heavily barricaded border ahead of the march. At Haryana’s border with Rajasthan, security has been heightened and mobile internet suspended in three districts of Rajasthan in view of the farmers’ march.
Police officials in Jaipur said mobile internet has been suspended for the day in Hanumangarh, Sriganganagar and Anupgarh districts and borders have been sealed.
Earlier, in the morning farmers began their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march, after a meeting with two Union ministers over their demands, including legal guarantee to MSP for crops, remained inconclusive.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (NonPolitical) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have announced that farmers will head to Delhi to press the Centre to accept their demands, including the enactment of a law to guarantee a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops.
As agitating farmers head to the national capital, villagers residing along the border with Haryana are facing inconvenience, with tight security arrangements and traffic diversions making daily commuting difficult.
Many are also worried about possible face-off between protesters and police on the heavily barricaded entry roads.
The multi-layer security arrangements to prevent the entry of protesters in Delhi have restricted the movement of locals.
The Delhi Police has been preparing to stop the farmers from entering the national capital as more than 5,000 police personnel, including paramilitary forces, have been deployed in border areas — Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur — to maintain law and order.
Farmers started heading towards the national capital from different villages of Punjab and Haryana on their tractortrolleys, loaded with dry rations, waterproof sheets and mattresses.
The Delhi Police had on Monday enforced Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in the entire city and secured the city’s borders.
Surveillance through drones and CCTV cameras is being maintained in the border areas. .
Several farmers associations, mostly from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab, had called for a protest on February 13 to demand a law guaranteeing Minimum Support Price.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Nonpolitical) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha announced that more than 200 farmer unions will march to Delhi.
In Delhi and the NCR many places on Tuesday witnessed traffic snarls as police placed multiple layers of barricades and stopped the movement of vehicles at the Singhu and Tikri borders to thwart the farmers’ march to the city
Commuters were stuck on the roads, battling massive traffic snarls with
Delhi being put under a heavy security cover with personnel in anti-riot gear deployed strategically and metal and concrete barricades regulating access to several key roads.
There was severe traffic congestion in the Ghazipur border area in
East Delhi as well due to heavy security arrangements made by police. Only two vehicles were allowed to pass at a time with barricades being lined up on half of the key stretch connecting Noida and Delhi.
The service lanes are blocked using concrete barricades, barbed wire and trucks, hindering the usual traffic movement in the area. The affected roads in the region connect the city to Bareilly, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Rishikesh, Dehradun, Mussoorie, Moradabad, and Nainital.
the farmer leaders first on February 8 and then two ministers another round of meeting on Monday.
The government is ready for talks with the representatives of farmers on any issue, said Jain, stressing it is the government’s view that the matter should be resolved through dialogue.
On the law and order situation, Jain said the court was informed that it was a state subject.
The Centre is ready to provide any support, even additional force, if the
governments of Haryana and Punjab request for it, he said.
Petitioner Uday Partap Singh, based in Haryana’s Panchkula, sought directions from the court to stay all obstructive actions by the governments of Haryana and Punjab and the central dispensation against farmers’ protest.
In the plea, he submitted that the issue pertains to the unlawful sealing of the border between Haryana and Punjab, particularly at Shambhu border near Ambala, by the Haryana authorities, with an objective to prevent farmers from exercising their constitutional right to assemble and protest peacefully.
The petitioner further submitted that the Haryana government’s actions, which include suspension of mobile internet services and bulk SMS in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad, and Sirsa, exacerbate the situation, depriving the citizens of their right to information and communication.
“The road blockade not only inconveniences residents but also hampers the movement of ambulances, school buses, pedestrians, and other vehicles. This obstruction has resulted in increased traffic on alternative routes, causing delays and difficulties for including professionals like advocates, doctors and emergency services who are unable to reach their workplaces and attend promptly,” the plea read.
The other petition, filed by one Arvind Seth, has sought directions to the states of Punjab, Haryana, the Centre and the National Highway Authority of India to ensure that none of the highways or other roads are blocked by protesters.
AGENCIES Cong promises
They are just demanding that they should get a better return for their hard work and farm produce,” Gandhi said at an event at the party’s headquarters in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district.
The statements from Gandhi and Kharge come on a day when clashes erupted at Haryana border points as farmers aimed to breach police barricades en route to New Delhi, met with tear gas by police.
Notably, a law on minimum support price for crops and loan waivers are among the prominent demands raised by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha spearheading the ‘Delhi Chalo’ agitation.
Gandhi reiterated his stance on enshrining MSP as a legal right for farmers, citing the unimplemented suggestions of agricultural expert MS Swaminathan, who has been recently awarded Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award.
“Swaminathan ji has clearly said in his report that farmers should get the legal right to MSP. But the BJP government has not been doing this. If the INDIA alliance comes to power at the Centre, our government will provide legal guarantees to MSP for farmers,” Gandhi said.
He said the INDIA alliance will honour all the recommendations in the Swaminathan report if voted to power.
“This is our beginning. Our manifesto
is being prepared. We are going to work for farmers and labourers,” the Congress leader said.
He pledged that the INDIA alliance would uphold all recommendations from the Swaminathan report upon assuming power, emphasising a commitment to the welfare of farmers and labourers.
Pak: Nawaz eyes
With none of the major parties PML-N, PPP, or PTI - securing the necessary seats in the February 8 elections to form a majority government independently, Pakistan is now facing a hung Parliament.
Addressing a press conference here after the meeting of the PPP’s highpowered Central Executive Committee (CEC), held under his leadership, Bilawal has said the reality is that his party does not have a mandate to form a federal government.
“Due to this, I will not be putting myself forward for the candidacy of the prime minister of Pakistan,” the 35-yearold former foreign minister said, adding that PML-N and the independents have greater numbers in the Centre.
Bilawal’s announcement came hours after former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, 74, will become the prime minister for a record fourth time.
“I had said that Nawaz Sharif would become prime minister for the fourth time. And I maintain today that he is going to be the PM for the fourth time,” Shehbaz told a press conference.
Bilawal noted that Imran Khan’s PTI had refused to form a coalition with the PPP which left the PML-N as the only party that had invited the PPP to join the government.
Khan on Tuesday dismissed the idea of forming a coalition government with any of the main political parties in Pakistan and termed them as the “biggest money launderers” being brought to power.
The 71-year-old Khan, also the founder of PTI, was speaking with journalists at the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Khan and many of his party colleagues are lodged in jail for many months in connection with convictions in multiple cases.
“There can be no alliance with PMLN, PPP, and MQM,” he said, adding that he had directed PTI Information Secretary Raouf Hasan to bring together all parties except the three parties.
To form a government, a party must secure 133 out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly. Independent candidates, largely backed by PTI, won 101 seats, followed by PML-N with 75, PPP with 54, and MQM-P with 17.
In a separate development, PTI announced plans to collaborate with religious parties Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) and Jamaati-e-Islami (JI) to establish government in the Centre, Punjab, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, though it remains uncertain whether this alliance would yield sufficient support to form the government in Punjab.
In a setback to PTI, a Pakistani court
on Tuesday dismissed more than 30 petitions filed by Khan’s party-backed independent candidates who challenged the “sham victory” of top PML-N leaders, including former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz.
Former Maharashtra...
but Chavan’s move has brought it back into limelight.
His involvement in the Adarsh Housing Society scandal, where a highrise structure was allegedly erected on disputed land without due approvals, has been a contentious period in his political narrative.
Despite speculations linking the scandal to his exit from the Congress, Chavan maintains that his decision was self-directed and not influenced by past controversies.
He said he had made a new beginning of his life. “In the last 38 years of my political life, starting a new journey. I would like to do some good work and go ahead with progressive thoughts.
“Politics is a way of service to society. Some people have criticised my decision. I will not make any personal remarks against anyone,” he said.
He emphasised his commitment to a proactive and constructive approach towards development, referencing past collaborations with Fadnavis during their respective tenures juxtaposed as Chief Minister and opposition leader.
He pledged to bolster BJP’s presence in Maharashtra, citing his dedication to enhancing the party’s electoral prospects.
Reflecting on his decision to switch allegiances, Chavan highlighted his alignment with the inclusive ethos of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” propagated by PM Modi and affirmed his intent to abide by the party’s directives and contribute positively to the national growth trajectory.
When asked about whether more people from the Congress could join the BJP, he said, “I have not made any calls to other Congress leaders. BJP leaders, like Fadnavis, will take that decision. I have only joined the party today.”
Queried about him attending a party meeting on Sunday and announcing his resignation the next day, Chavan said, “I was thinking about it for a long time. I wanted to be a part of nation-building. It was not an easy decision. I had to think a lot about it. The decision is taken in the interest of Maharashtra, my own district and the nation. If some good things are taking place, I should be a part of it.”
“It is true that Congress did a lot of things for me and gave me several opportunities, but nobody can deny that I have also done a lot for the party. It is unfair to be critical of me,” he said.
Fadnavis hailed Chavan’s entry into the BJP, acknowledging his extensive political experience and anticipated contribution to fortifying the ruling coalition. Fadnavis underscored Chavan’s national stature and indicated that discussions regarding his new responsibilities
within the BJP would involve central leadership.
Chavan’s move follows the recent departures of senior Maharashtra Congress figures Baba Siddique and Milind Deora, signalling a shift in the state’s political landscape.
Meanwhile, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Sharad Pawar, expressed disappointment over Chavan’s move, suggesting that it reflects the BJP’s strategy of leveraging pressure on individuals facing legal issues to secure their allegiance.
Punjab and Haryana HC...