Farmers protest: Sonia Gandhi criticises Centre, reiterates call for withdrawal of new laws

7.54 pm: Former Union minister and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal says the Centre has lost the trust of the entire farming community. “PM Modi should talk directly to protesting farmers,” she adds, according to PTI. “Farmers’ demands falling on deaf ears. Who will be held responsible for deaths at doorstep of central government.”

7.35 pm: Haryana farmers’ group meets Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, demands completion of a canal, reports The Indian Express. The meeting comes ahead of the eight rounds scheduled for January 8.

7.26 pm: Congress President Sonia Gandhi criticises the Narendra Modi government over the ongoing farmer protests, reports PTI. “I once again appeal to the government to repeal the three farm laws immediately and fulfil all the demands of farmers,” she says.

5.41 pm: Samkyukt Kisan Morcha senior member Abhimanyu Kohar tells PTI that the farmers wil intensify their protests in the coming days. “Around 2,500 tractors from Haryana have participated in today’s march,” he says. “We want to warn that if the government doesn’t not accept our demands, farmers’ protest will get intensified further.”

5.37 pm: Bharatiya Janata Party national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain says the farmers should have waited till the next round of talks, scheduled for January 8, before giving a call for tractor march in the national capital, reports ANI.

“It is not correct to call for any movement when the talks are underway,” Hussain tells the news agency. “Farmers should have waited till January 8 talks with the Centre before calling for tractor march. Last two rounds of talks had ended on a positive note and we are hopeful for a solution in the next round.”

5.28 pm: Here are some visuals from the tractor rally from Noida’s Maha Maya Flyover to Delhi’s Chilla border.

3.05 pm: Bharati Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) chief Joginder Singh Ugrahan says more than 3,500 tractors and trolleys participated in Thursday’s tractor rally, reports The Indian Express.

1.46 pm: Farmers hold tractor rally in Delhi’s Burari area, reports ANI.

1.36 pm: Supreme Court asks Centre to file a reply within two weeks on the measures undertaken to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at the protest sites, reports the Hindustan Times.

The court cites the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Delhi in March, which the Centre blamed for jump in coronavirus cases in the country.

“Same problem may arise in the farmers protest too,” a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, according to Bar and Bench. “We are trying to ensure that Covid does not spread. Ensure guidelines issued are followed.”

12.54 pm: Union minister Kailash Choudhary urges the farmers to keep their protest peaceful, ANI reports. “It is their right to protest but there are people, like Communists, who are inciting farmers and don’t want peace in the country,” he says. “Farmers need to be cautious. I expect that tomorrow’s [Friday’s] meeting will bring some positive news.”

12.43 pm: Here are some visuals of the farmers’ rally in Delhi’s Burari area.

12.40 pm: The women in rural Haryana received training for driving tractors for Thursday’s rally, according to PTI.

12.11 pm: The farmers protesting in Haryana’s Palwal city head towards the Singhu border, ANI reports.

12.00 pm: Here are some more visuals of the tractor rally. (Credit: The Indian Express)

11.59 am: The farmers are seen participating in the tractor rally on the Ghazipur border, The Telegraph reports.

11.53 am: Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait leads one of the tractor rallies, The Times of India reports.

11.48 am: Samkyukt Kisan Morcha member Abhimanyu Kohar tells PTI that the farmers will intensify their protest if the Centre does not accept their demands.

11.47 am: The tractor march begins from different points – Singhu to Tikri Border, Tikri to Kundli, Ghazipur to Palwal and Rewasan to Palwal – according to PTI.

11.44 am: Bharati Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) chief Joginder Singh says farmers took out the rally with over 3,500 tractors and trolleys, PTI reports.

11.34 am: The farmers’ tractor rally is meant to be a rehearsal for the one they are planning to hold on Republic Day if the Centre doesn’t meet their demands, The Hindu reports.

11.26 am: Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Mahasangh National President Shiv Kumar Kakka says the farmers will proceed towards the Singhu border from Palwal, ANI reports.

11.24 am: Here are some visuals of the farmers’ tractor rally in Haryana’s Palwal city.

10.45 am: Visuals from the border areas.

10.42 am: Farmers change plans and will now take out tractor rally till Noida and return to Ghazipur, reports ANI.

10.40 am: Protesting farmer unions dub the cancellation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to India a “political win” for them and a “diplomatic defeat” for the government. They assert that their agitation has been receiving global support.

Johnson was scheduled to attend the Republic Day celebrations in India.

“The cancellation of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s India visit is a political win for farmers and a diplomatic defeat for the Modi government...political and social organisations across the world have been supporting the agitation,” Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of the protesting farmer unions, says in a statement in Hindi.

10.39 am: Security tightened at Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) toll plaza ahead of farmers’ tractor rally.

10.38 am: The Delhi Traffic Police have been tweeting updates on which roads to avoid.

10.33 am: Those coming from Sirsa side and Beel Akbarpur towards Sonipat won’t be allowed to get on the expressway from 2 pm to 5 pm, the police said.

10.32 am: There will be diversions at several points on Eastern Peripheral Expressway today. Police in Gautam Buddh Nagar near Delhi have said vehicles won’t be allowed to get on the expressway from Beel Akbarpur and Sirsa towards Palwal from 12 noon to 3 pm.

10.28 am: The tractor rally is being organised by Sanyuta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella of 40 farmer unions. The tractor rally was planned for Tuesday. However, bad weather forced the farmers to defer the rally by a day.

10.27 am: Farmers will take out a rally of tractors today on the Western Peripheral Expressway that starts at Ghaziabad and ends in Palwal in Haryana. They will then return on the same route. The police have asked people to avoid this expressway.

10.20 am: Union minister Piyush Goyal says he is positive about the ongoing discussions with farmer unions, reports PTI. “There are always different points of view to look at things,” he adds. “No good work is easy and difficulties always come. Problems arise in everything, but it all depends on how we see things and how we deal with them. It is all about the point of view.”

The seventh round of talks on agriculture laws between farmers and the Centre on Monday had ended in a deadlock, with the two sides agreeing to meet again at 2 pm on January 8.

Tens of thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping out on roads around the capital, New Delhi, for over 40 days, braving bitter cold and continuous rain over the last few days. They insist that the government withdraw the laws and guarantee a minimum support price for their produce.