Farm bills protest: Tractor set on fire at India Gate
What's the story
A tractor was set on fire at the India Gate in New Delhi early Monday morning in protest against the contentious farm bills, the police said. The bills were passed by the Parliament last week and have been vehemently opposed by Farmers and the Opposition parties across the country. Late Sunday, the three bills had also received the President's assent. Here are more details.
Incident
15-20 Punjab Youth Congress workers torched tractor
Around 15-20 persons had gathered at India Gate between 7:15 am and 7:30 am on Monday and set an old tractor on fire, NDTV reported. The protesters raised pro-Congress slogans, according to the police, who have since removed the tractor after the fire department doused the flames. The protesters have been identified as Punjab Youth Congress workers, who live-streamed the incident on Facebook.
Facebook Post
You can watch the clip here
Bills
What are the farm bills?
The controversial bills are: The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020. The three bills were passed by the Parliament last week and received the President's assent last night. A gazette notification has been issued in this regard.
Protest
Government promises reforms; farmers continue protest
Farmers, particularly in Punjab and Haryana, have continued to protest against the bills. Farmers claim that they had not been consulted when the bills were being drafted, even though the government has maintained that the bills bring historic reforms, such as freedom from the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) mandis and from the middlemen who charge a commission from trade in these mandis.
Protest
Punjab CM to hold sit-in protest today
Farmers, under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, continued to sit on the Amritsar-Delhi railway track in protest of the bills. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh will hold a sit-in on Monday in Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Shaheed Bhagat Singh. Monday marks late independence activist Bhagat Singh's 113th birth anniversary.
Information
Akalis quit NDA; shutdown in Karnataka
One of BJP's oldest allies and a founding member of the National Democratic Alliance—Shiromani Akali Dal—has quit the ruling coalition at the Centre over the bills. Separately, in Karnataka, farmers groups have called for a state-wide bandh (shutdown).
Opposition's protest
Opposition claims bills were passed in 'anti-democratic' manner
The Opposition has backed the farmers' protest and has also criticized the manner in which the bills were passed by the Parliament. They claim the bills were passed by voice vote as Deputy Chairman Harivansh Singh ignored their calls to conduct physical voting. The Opposition claims the government lacked the numbers to pass the bills. They have accused Singh of colluding with the government.