Opposition MPs not allowed to cross barricades, meet farmers

Fifteen MPs from 10 opposition parties including the SAD DMK NCP and the Trinamool Congress were stopped by the police from reaching Ghazipur border on Thursday to meet farmers protesting against new farm laws a leader said According to SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal who coordinated the visit the leaders were not allowed to cross the barricades and reach the protest siteFarmers raise slogans during their ongoing protest against the farm laws at Singhu border in New Delhi on Thursday PICPTIBesides Badal Supriya Sule from NCP Kanimozhi and Tiruchi Siva from the DMK Saugata Roy from the TMC were part of the delegation Members of the National Conference RSP and the IUML were also part of it During a discussion in Parliament on Wednesday several opposition parties asked the government to withdraw the three contentious farm laws without making it a prestige issue and not to treat the agitating farmers as ldquoenemiesrdquoStringent security continued at Ghazipur on the DelhiUttar Pradesh border one of the key protest sites where thousands of farmers are camping with a demand that the Centre repeal the new agrimarketing laws enacted last SeptemberThe government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture Eleven rounds of formal talks between the government and the protesting farmer unions have failed to break the deadlockWhile unions have stuck to their main demand of repeal of the laws and legal guarantee of MSP the government has offered some concessions including keeping these laws on hold for 115 years Even the Supreme Court has stayed the laws for two months and set up a panel to look into the matterIron nails being lsquorepositionedrsquoIron nails studded on roads at Ghazipur border to restrict the movement of farmers agitating against the new agri laws are being ldquorepositionedrdquo a senior police officer said on ThursdayThe statement comes after videos and photos of workers removing the nails near Ghazipur border surfaced on social media Deputy Commissioner of Police East Deepak Yadav asserted that the security arrangements at the border will remain the sameCRPF RAF deployment extended for two weeksThe deployment of 31 Central Reserve Police Force CRPF companies including 16 Rapid Action Force RAF companies for DelhiNCR in view of the farmersrsquo protests has been extended for two more weeks Earlier the Centre had extended deployment period of four companies of RAF till February 4 to maintain law and order in GhaziabadPolice register FIR Thunberg not namedDelhi Police have registered an FIR against unnamed people in connection with the ldquotoolkitrdquo which was shared by activist Greta Thunberg and others on Twitter Thunberg tweeted ldquoI still StandWithFarmers and support their peaceful protest No amount of hate threats or violations of human rights will ever change that FarmersProtestrdquoBKS to not support lsquochakka jamrsquo stirRashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghaffiliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh BKS on Thursday said that it will not support farmer unionsrsquo lsquochakka jamrsquo call given for February 6 for blocking national and state highways for three hours Farmer unions have said that they will block the highways in protest against the internet ban and harassment allegedly meted out to themlsquoTravesty of the truthrsquoNarendra Modi Prime MinisterlsquoFarmers have been behind the progress of the country They also played an important role in Chauri Chaura struggle In the last six years steps have been taken to make farmers selfreliant As a result of this the agriculture sector has grown even during the pandemicrsquoDerek OrsquoBrien Trinamool Congress leaderlsquoThe Repealing Bill 2021 this will repeal all three controversial farm laws I have taken the liberty of drafting the Repealing Bill 2021 I will share it with them You repeal these bills farm laws There is a way to do it Eighteen monthsrsquo pause you will put on these laws but howrsquoP Chidambaram senior Congress leaderlsquoThis is a travesty of the truth If MEA distorts the truth on a matter where there is a record who will believe MEArsquos other statementsrsquoDevendra Fadnavis BJP LeaderlsquoHow an international conspiracy is going on has been revealed with the tweets India is being defamed using the platform of farmersrsquo protestrsquo