LIVE: Court sends Deep Sidhu to 7-day custody in Jan 26 violence case

Latest News LIVE updates: Sidhu was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell on Tuesday morning. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

2:47 AM

Centre dragging feet on agri laws issue as it wants to exhaust protesting farmers: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused the Union government of deliberately dragging its feet on the agricultural laws issue as it wants to exhaust the protesting farmers.
 

The former chief minister also alleged that the BJP government at the Centre intends to keep the issue alive till the 2022 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh so that it can use it for levelling all kinds of allegations on the opposition parties.
 

In a statement issued by the party here, the SP chief said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is only concerned about his global image and not that of the country.
 

Several international personalities, including singers Rihanna, Jay Sean, Dr Zeus and former adult star Mia Khalifa, recently came out in support of Indian farmers who have been protesting for over two months against the three contentious agri laws.
 

Yadav alleged that Modi was acting at the behest of his capitalist friends.
 

2:46 AM

MoS Kailash Choudhary urges opposition not to mislead farmers over farm laws

Taking on the Opposition, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Kailash Choudhary on Tuesday said those who are terming the new agri laws as "black laws" should remember that bringing the legislations was part of their manifesto.
 

Making an intervention during the motion of thanks on the President's address in Lok Sabha, he said the Opposition should not mislead farmers on these reformist measures.
 

Farmers got raw deal for the past 70 years as previous governments did nothing for them, Choudhary said.
 

With regard to contract farming, he said farmers are permitted to decide the rate rather than the contractor.
 

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting at Delhi's borders for over two months against the farm laws.
 

They have been demanding a rollback 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.
 

11:35 PM

Govt treating farmers the way it should be treating China on borders: Owaisi

Asking the government to withdraw the three farm laws, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM) on Tuesday accused the Centre of treating farmers the way it should be treating China on the borders of the country, as per PTI report. Participating in a discussion in Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks to the President for his address, Owaisi said the "infrastructure" that should have been created at the borders to check Chinese troops was erected at Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur borders to prevent farmers from entering Delhi.

According to PTI, he wanted to know why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "shying" away from taking the name of China which is responsible for the killing of Indian soldiers and constructing a village in Arunachal Pradesh. Owaisi hoped that during his reply to the debate, PM Modi will blame China for its actions against India.

10:24 PM

BJP facing 'spontaneous anger' of farmers: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said BJP leaders were facing spontaneous anger of farmers and rejected as hilarious claims of the saffron party's state unit that the protesters were not peasants but Congress workers, as per PTI. Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma had earlier in the day accused the Punjab government of organising protests under the guise of farmers' agitation to "prevent" candidates of the saffron party from campaigning ahead of the February 14 civic polls.

Singh said the cornered BJP failed to muster candidates to contest even 50 per cent of the civic body seats and tried pathetically to shift blame for the farmers' wrath on the Congress, according to PTI. "The BJP should start preparing itself for political oblivion... Punjab would prove to be the party's (BJP) nemesis," Singh said in a statement here. The BJP's fate is now sealed, not just in Punjab but also at the Centre, where its despotic rule is all set to end, he said.

What you see on the roads, and which you allege to be the Congress' handiwork, is the spontaneous anger triggered among farmers by your arrogant anti-farmer attitude, said Singh. He rejected as hilarious Punjab BJP's claims that the protesters it is facing on its campaign trail for the upcoming municipal polls are not farmers but Congress workers.

10:05 PM

Govt linking farmers' movement with terrorists, Khalistanis: Harsimrat Badal

The Akali Dal on Tuesday accused the government of committing atrocities on farmers agitating against the three agricultural laws at Delhi's borders and criticised it for linking the peasants' movement with terrorists and Khalistanis, PTI reported. Akali Dal member Harsimrat Kaur Badal said farmers are braving the cold and waiting at Delhi's borders but the government's "eyes and ears are shut", according to PTI.

"On Constitution Day (November 26), lathis and tear gas rained on unarmed farmers," she alleged participating the debate on the motion to thank the President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget session. The Akali Dal was part of the ruling NDA till it quit the alliance in September 2020 in protest against the three laws. Subsequently, Badal, who was a minister in the Narendra Modi government since 2014, resigned from her post. Waving posters and photos of farmers, who died during the agitation, she said no sympathetic word has come from the government for them.

"I was in the government for six years but when it became inhuman, what is the point of staying in such a government. Even when these (agriculture) ordinances were brought in, I told the cabinet to consult more people. I was told that they will do that when the ordinances become law," she said. "They gave us the laws and told us to take them to farmers. When we did that, we understood the apprehensions of the farmers. We gave a letter to the agriculture minister," she said.

9:03 PM

FIR lodged about missing farmer who participated in Jan 26 tractor rally: Police to HC

Police on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that a missing person FIR has been registered about a Haryana-based farmer whose whereabouts are not known since January 26 after he participated in a tractor rally in the national capital that turned violent. The submission by the Delhi Police was made before a bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice A J Bhambhani during the hearing of a habeas corpus plea moved by the brother of the missing farmer, PTI reported.

 

The court asked the police, represented by Delhi government standing counsel (criminal) Rahul Mehra and advocate Chaitanya Gosain, to file a status report before the next date of hearing on February 17.

 

The petitioner, Baljeet, represented by advocates Benipal Naginder and Aditi Pundhir, has claimed that his brother Bajinder had participated in the tractor rally and was missing since January 26.

8:38 PM

Farm laws not religious scriptures that changes cannot be made: Farooq Abdullah

National Conference member Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday said the new farm laws are not religious scriptures that changes cannot be made as he appealed to the Centre to hold a dialogue with the agitating farmers and come out with a solution. He was speaking during the discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President's address.

 

"I just want to make this request on the farmers' issue. It is not a 'Khudai kitaab' (religious scripture) that we cannot make changes. But we have made law. If they (farmers) want it to be scrapped, why can't you talk to them," he said.

 

"I would request you with folded hands that let us not stand on prestige... This is our nation. We belong to this nation and if we belong to this nation let us respect everybody in this nation," Abdullah said, adding, "Come out with a solution."

8:26 PM

Youth Congress takes out 'sansad gherao' march to protest against farmers' issues

Activists of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) on Tuesday took out a protest march to 'gherao' Parliament over the farmers' issues, "rising" unemployment and hike in fuel prices. However, the march which started from from Jantar Mantar was stopped by police on Raisina Road.

 

Congress MP Digvijay Singh along with some leaders of the party and activists also courted arrest, the IYC claimed.

 

A public meeting was also held at Jantar Mantar before the march that was attended by several senior leaders including Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, MPs Deepender Singh Hooda, Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev, Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar among others.

8:05 PM

#MeToo: Delhi court verdict likely tomorrow in M J Akbar's defamation case against Priya Ramani

A Delhi Court is likely to pronounce verdict on Wednesday in M J Akbar's criminal defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani for her allegations of sexual harassment against him. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar had on February 1 reserved the judgment after Akbar as well as Ramani completed their arguments, according to PTI.

 

Ramani had made allegation of sexual misconduct against Akbar in the wake of #MeToo movement in 2018.

 

Akbar had filed the complaint against Ramani on October 15, 2018 for allegedly defaming him by accusing him of sexual misconduct decades ago when he was a journalist. He resigned as Union minister on October 17, 2018. He has denied all the allegations of sexual harassment by all the women who came forward during #MeToo campaign against him.

7:22 PM

Republic Day violence: Deep Sidhu sent to seven-day police custody

A Delhi court on Tuesday remanded Punjabi actor-activist Deep Sidhu, accused in the Republic Day violence case, to seven days' police custody.

 

Sidhu was produced before Metropolitan Magistrate Prigya Gupta at Tis Hazari court. Police had sought 10 days' custody of the accused, which was opposed by Sidhu's lawyers.

 

The police sought his remand on the grounds that locations in Mumbai, Punjab and Haryana need to be visited, in-depth scrutiny of his mobile phone has to be conducted and other conspirators have to be arrested.