Anna Hazare calls off proposed hunger strike over farm laws after Centre promises to set up panel

-

Mumbai: Social activist Anna Hazare on Friday said he won't be proceeding with the indefinite fast against the new farm laws and claimed that the Central government has agreed to some of his demands.

"The union government has agreed to some of my demands and also announced setting up a committee to improve the lives of farmers. I have decided to suspend my proposed indefinite fast starting from Saturday," he said on Friday.

Union Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary and BJP leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadanvis met Hazare during the day.

"A high-level committee, with some members nominated by Hazare, will consider his demands and submit a report in six
months," said Choudhary.

In a statement earlier in the day, Hazare (84) had announced that he will be starting the hunger strike from his village Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra on Saturday.

In that communication, Hazare had said he had written to the prime minister and union agriculture minister five times on the plight of farmers but to no avail.

Earlier, while announcing the hunger strike, he had said, "I have been demanding reforms in the agriculture sector, but
the Centre doesn't seem to be taking the right decisions."

"The Centre has no sensitivity left for farmers, which is why I am starting my indefinite fast at my village from 30 January," he had added.

Hazare, who was at the forefront of the anti-corruption movement in 2011, had also recalled that when he went on a hunger strike at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, the then UPA government had called a special session of Parliament.

"Farmers are not getting adequate returns for their crops. I had told the government to implement the report of the Swaminathan Commission. It was delayed by the union government, so I decided to launch the protest from Saturday," Hazare told reporters at his village.

"But the government has appointed a high-level committee and assured me that farmers will get adequate returns for crops. Therefore, I have decided not to launch the protest," he said.

Asked if this U-turn will hurt his credibility, Hazare said the high-level committee will look into the implementation of the reforms, and he felt that he can trust the Union government.

Choudhary said the government has responded positively to Hazare's demands.

"He also told us that agriculture budget should be increased. I can tell you that we have significantly increased the agriculture budget. We have appointed a high-level committee that will consist of members of Niti Ayog and persons nominated by Hazare. It will submit its report in six months," the minister said.



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/36oQ24l
Press Trust of India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Both COVID-19 vaccine doses needed for good protection against B16172 variant

-
It’s been a concerning few weeks in the UK, with the B16172 variant first taking hold and then spreading to become dominant. This more infectious form of the virus, initially identified in India, is what we’re now going to have to live with – unless it is out-competed by another variant in the future. Worryingly, experts had predicted that B16172 might be able to escape some of the effects of vaccines, which if true would threaten to derail the UK’s plans to finish lifting restrictions from the end of June. However, Public Health England (PHE) has looked at the ability of various variants to evade immunity and says that the UK’s vaccines remain effective against the variants circulating, including B16172. On the surface, this looks like good news. But delve a bit deeper, and things get more complicated, says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. PHE’s research found a little drop-off in protection against B16172 among people who were fully vaccinated.
Read more

New coronavirus variant emerge in India: How should our COVID response change?

-
Image
After genome sequencing of over 10,000 COVID-19 cases in India, researchers have discovered a new variant with two new mutations which may be better at evading the immune system. In 15-20 percent of samples from the Indian state of Maharashtra (the state accounting for 62 percent of cases in the country) a new, double mutation in key areas of the virus has been detected. These are now known as the E484Q and L452R mutations. What makes the variant different? Both these mutations are concerning because they are located in a key portion of the virus – the spike protein – that it uses to penetrate human cells. Spike proteins attach via a “receptor binding domain”, meaning the virus can attach to receptors in our cells. These new mutations include changes to the spike protein that make it a “better fit” for human cells. This means the virus can gain entry more easily and multiply faster. Given what we have seen with other similar mutations , it might also make it harder for our immu
Read more

Aditya L1 Mission: Spacecraft is nearing its final phase, says ISRO chief

-
Aditya L1 spacecraft is nearing its final phase, and manoeuvres to enter the L1 point are expected to be completed by January 7, 2024, according to ISRO Chairman S Somanath. “Aditya is on the way. I think it has reached almost its final phase,” the ISRO chief told PTI on the sidelines of an event organised at VSSC to commemorate the 60th year of the First Sounding Rocket Launch. Aditya L1, India’s first space-based mission to study the Sun, was successfully launched on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. The spacecraft, after travelling about 1.5 million km from Earth over 125 days, is expected to be placed in a Halo orbit around the Lagrangian point L1, considered closest to the Sun. He said that the last preparations for the spacecraft’s entry into the L1 point are currently underway incrementally.”Possibly by January 7th, the final manoeuvres will be done for entering into the L1 point,” Somanath added. Among other tasks, it will capture and tr
Read more