Farmers plan to block roads across the nation on Saturday
What's the story
Agitating Farmers have announced that they will block state and national highways for three hours on February 6, Saturday, to lodge protest against three farm laws, suspension of internet services in select areas, as well as the Union Budget presented yesterday.
The declaration was made at the Singhu border, where hundreds of farmers have been camping since November.
Here are more details.
Statement
Budget confirms government wants to withdraw support for farmers: Leader
Revealing the plans of Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body steering the agitation, farmers' leader Darshan Pal said the Chakka Jam will take place between 12 noon and 3 pm.
He slammed the Budget, saying the government has confirmed their apprehension.
Farmers' union remained furious that Budget allocation for agriculture went from Rs. 1.54 lakh crore in 2020-21 to Rs 1.48 lakh crore now.
Statement
Pal berated government for trimming money of two schemes
Pal claimed that the government hadn't taken steps to address farmers' concerns.
"The allocation for PM-AASHA scheme has been cut from Rs. 1,500 crore in 2019-20 to Rs. 400 crore now, and the PSS-MIS scheme has been cut from Rs. 3,000 crore to Rs. 1,501 crore in the past 3 years," he said, arguing that these programs ensure farmers get Minimum Support Prices (MSPs).
Quote
'Government has no commitment to MSPs'
Similarly, another farmers' leader Kirankumar Vissa, said, "In comparison, the farmers suffer a loss of more than Rs. 50,000 crore in a year because of the shortfall of prices below MSP. This shows that the government has no commitment to MSP despite their rhetoric."
What he said
At government's behest, Twitter restricted accounts: Yogendra Yadav
Taking the same tone as farmers' leaders, Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav berated the Centre for reducing budget allocation for the agricultural sector.
Yadav also said that it was at the "request of government authorities" that Twitter accounts of farmers' supporters faced action.
Reportedly, the accounts of Kisan Ekta Morcha and "Tractor2Twitter" were restricted by the micro-blogging platform on Monday.
Looking back
During last major farmers' event, chaos and violence dominated Delhi
To recall, the last major event planned by the farmers ended in violence. On January 26, groups of farmers ran riot in Delhi, clashed with cops, took over the Red Fort, and even hoisted flags at the Mughal-era monument.
The episode cost farmers goodwill they earned over months and also prompted them to abandon another march that they had scheduled for Budget day.
Appeal
Reaching out to farmers, minister said government committed to MSP
While the farmers made new plans, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar urged them to maintain a positive outlook.
He said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget shows the government's commitment toward mandis and MSPs. It should also clarify doubts about the reforms, he added.
Tomar also highlighted that his colleague proposed giving mandis access to the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund to ensure that they are modernized.