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JAIPUR l FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00
RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 192
UNION MINISTER NITIN GADKARI INTRODUCES THE SOON TO BE LAUNCHED ‘VEDIC PAINT’ MADE OF COW DUNG TO BOOST RURAL ECONOMY
PM NARENDRA MODI TO VIRTUALLY ADDRESS A CONFERENCE OF MADHYA PRADESH FARMERS TODAY
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
8°C - 23°C
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‘FARMERS HAVE RIGHT TO PROTEST’
Supreme Court suggests Centre to put farm laws on hold
The Apex Court, which was hearing a bunch of petitions for and against the protest, said, “we recognise the fundamental right to protest against a law. There is no question of balancing or curtailing it. But it should not damage anyone’s life or property” Mohd Fahad New Delhi: Acknowledging the right of farmers to hold non-violent protests, the Supreme Court on Thursday suggested that the Centre put implementation of the new farm laws on hold while putting forward the idea of constituting an impartial and independent committee, which may include experts like P Sainath, to end the impasse. The Centre said farmers would not come forward for negotiations if implementation of farm laws was put on hold. Heading a threejudge bench hearing a clutch of petitions seeking removal of farmers protesting at the borders of Delhi, Chief Justice of India S A Bobde said it would order for serving of notices to protesting farmer unions and give them liberty to approach the vacation bench.
KEJRIWAL TEARS FARM LAWS COPIES IN DELHI ASSEMBLY We will not decide the validity of law today. The only thing which we will decide is the issue of protest and the right to move freely We are also Indian, we are familiar with the plight of farmers and are sympathetic to their cause —Supreme Court Bench
“A protest is constitutional till it does not destroy property or endanger life. Centre and farmers have to talk. We are thinking of an impartial and independent committee before whom both parties can give its side of story,” the CJI said.
The top court said the purpose of staging a protest can be achieved if the farmers and the government hold talks and “we wish to facilitate that”. “We will not decide the validity of law today. The only thing which we will decide is the issue of pro-
Double blow for Mamata as Suvendu Adhikari, Jitendra Tiwari quit TMC Kolkata: In a double jolt to the ruling TMC in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders Suvendu Adhikari and Jitendra Tiwari resigned from the primary membership of the party on Thursday. Adhikari, who quit as Nandigram MLA on Wednesday, tendered his resignation to party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Adhikari is expected to join the BJP soon. In his resignation letter, Adhikari said he was “thankful for all
Suvendu Adhikari
Jitendra Tiwari
the challenges and opportunities” and would always value the time he spent as a member of TMC. Adhikari represented Nandigram constituency in Purba Medinipur district and was
the face of the Nandigram movement, which catapulted Mamata Banerjee to power in 2011. Adhikari, who had been distancing himself from the party over the last few months Turn to P6
JAIPUR LIT FEST 2021 GOES VIRTUAL IN FEB First India Bureau
Jaipur: With most things going virtual this year, the Jaipur Literature Festival 2021 has also followed suit. Next year, the festival will take place in a virtual avatar from 19th – 21st February and then 26 – 28 February. The first list of speakers has also been announced,
and it includes a motley of writers, diplomats, and distinguished speakers from various fields. According to the organisers, the aim is to create a more immersive experience using augmented reality, providing access and easy participation to readers from all across the globe.
test and the right to move freely,” the bench made clear at the outset of the hearing. The petitioners contended that roads had been blocked by the protesters and border points closed, thereby adversely impacting vehicular traffic. This, they said,
was causing hardship to people, including Covid-19 patients, from accessing emergency medical services. The bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, said farmers cannot instigate violence Turn to P6
Sonia finally agrees to meet
Cong ‘rebels’ tomorrow
Gehlot likely to leave for Delhi today to attend the meeting and also to have a ‘plain talk’ with
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tore up copies of the farm bills during a special Assembly session on Thursday, and urged the centre “not to become worse than Britishers”. Kejriwal also asked the centre “what was the hurry to get the farm laws passed during pandemic”. “I hereby tear (up the) three farm laws in this Assembly and appeal to the centre not to become wors(e) than (the) Britishers,” said Kejriwal.
CAN GOVT NOT IMPLEMENT LAWS TO FACILITATE TALKS?
DELHI HC DECLINES PLEA ON FARMERS AT BORDERS
The CJI also asked the Attorney General KK Venugopal if the government can commit that the farm laws will not be implemented while the court is hearing the petitions and that no executive actions will be taken under the laws in order to facilitate the negotiations. The AG said if the implementation is put on hold, then farmers will not agree to negotiation. The bench said that the suggestion is to facilitate negotiation and then the AG sought some time to get back on this point.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday declined to entertain a plea seeking aid, security and treatment of the farmers protesting on the borders of the national capital, saying a similar issue was before the Supreme Court. A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan said that HC’s jurisdiction does not extend to areas outside national capital territory and same plea could have been filed in other state HCs.
SC dismisses UP govt’s appeal
seeking Dr Kafeel Khan’s
Mrs Gandhi on the PCC revamp, political
detention under stringent NSA
New Delhi: A group of Congress “rebels” who wrote a letter flagging a leadership drift and calling for sweeping organizational changes, may finally get to meet with Sonia Gandhi. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath was key to setting up the meeting, sources said. Twenty three leaders had signed the letter, but not all will be at the meeting. A core group of five or six leaders is likely to rep-
New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government today lost its case in the Supreme Court seeking tough charges against a doctor, Kafeel Khan, under the National Security Act (NSA) for a speech against the amended citizenship law. “Criminal cases will be decided on their own merits. You cannot use a preventive detention order in another case,” Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said, confirming an Allahabad High Court order that had freed the doctor. “It seems to be a good
appointments and cabinet reshuffle
Sonia Gandhi
resent the wider concerns, it is believed. The meeting will take place on Saturday, say sources, in moves towards reconciliation. Turn to P6
Dr Kafeel Khan
order by the High Court. We see no reason to interfere with the order. But the observations will not affect the prosecution on criminal cases,” Justice Bobde said. The Yogi Adity-
ananth government had challenged the Allahabad High Court’s September 1 verdict that cancelled the detention of Kafeel Khan under the NSA, calling it “illegal”. Turn to P6
Gehlot govt approves addl funds of `75 cr for canal projects Naresh Sharma Jaipur: Ashok Gehlot government has approved an additional budget of Rs. 75 crore for the development of three canals in the state. The CM cleared the proposal of the finance department in this regard. As per the proposal, the additional budget of Rs 75 crores will be used for water management of irrigated area under Phase-II of Indira Gandhi Canal Project (IGNP).
The work is under progress for the development of a pressure irrigation system in the command area of Nohar-Sahwa lift, Gajner lift and Kolayat lift canals under the Indira Gandhi Canal Project (IGNP). The additional budget will be used for the payment of some pending cases and for completing the ongoing works. Similarly, the CM has cleared the proposal for sanctioning additional budget of more than Rs 30.03
THE PROPOSAL As per the proposal, NABARD-funded project has been approved for activities such as development of water logging areas for the protection of forests in the state, increasing greenery, preventing land erosion, formation of forest protection committees and training.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot
crore for NABARDfunded project to increase greenery and forest area in the state
and also decided to release Rs 65.34 crore towards additional annual action plan amount sanctioned under the CAMPA scheme. As per the proposal, NABARD-funded project has been approved for activities such as development of water logging areas for the protection of forests in the state. An additional budget provision of Rs. 30.03 crore has been approved so that the works can be executed as per requirement.