Farmers' Protest News Highlights: Fourth round of talks between Union ministers and farmer leaders begins in Chandigarh

The live blog session has concluded. For more news, views and updates, stay tuned with Moneycontrol.com.

2 officers, 1 first responder shot and killed at the scene of a domestic call in Minnesota, police association says, reports AP

BJP’s Manoj Sonkar resigns as Chandigarh mayor ahead of Supreme Court hearing

Bandipora police rescued a woman belonging to Bihar, from a human trafficking racket. Cognisance was taken under the relevant sections of law in PS Sumbal: Bandipora Police

Over 10 lakh people attended a rally of Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, in Anantapur.

Fourth round of talks between farmer leaders and Union Ministers, in connection with the ongoing protest, underway in Chandigarh; Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann also present at the meeting.

Ace Tennis player Rohan Bopanna, in the presence of Karnataka Minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil handed over an ambulance to Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Trauma and Orthopaedics in Bengaluru earlier today.

"A historical accomplishment! Congratulations to the incredible Indian team who have, for the first time ever, won the Women's Team Trophy at the Badminton Asia Championships. Their success will motivate several upcoming athletes. The way our Nari Shakti has been excelling in various sports is just phenomenal," posts PM Modi on X.

Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai arrive at the meeting venue in Chandigarh, they will meet farmer leaders shortly, in connection with the ongoing protest.

Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai arrive at a hotel in Chandigarh to meet farmer leaders in connection with the ongoing protest.

"Arvind Kejriwal and all our (AAP) top leaders have been raided repetitively, but not a single penny has been recovered because we are honest people. It was pretty easy to join the BJP and absolve us of all our crimes. But, that is not the case," says AAP chief national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar

Here's what former Madhya Pradesh Minister and Congress leader Sajjan Singh Verma said after meeting former MP CM Kamal Nath.

"I met Kamal Nath today and had a discussion with him. He said that currently, his entire focus is on how to distribute tickets for the 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state and what will be the caste equation on each seat. He also said that he had no thoughts of leaving the party, nor has he discussed it with anyone."

"Sandeshkhali is a black spot on Indian democracy and (West) Bengal's culture and traditions. It is unfortunate that Mamata Banerjee is standing with those who did wrong against women," says BJP MP Dilip Ghosh.

Delhi minister & AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj attended the Garden Tourism Festival organised by Delhi Tourism at Garden of Five Senses.

He says, "Today the 36th edition of the Garden Tourism Festival by the Delhi government has begun...These types of festivals promote the environment...We are happy that a large number of people are attending this festival..."

Security has been heightened in Jammu ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit on February 20.

The umbrella group of farmer associations protesting under the name Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has called for a Black Flag demonstration on February 21 against NDA Members of Parliament (MPs).

- The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry facilitated the export of bananas from India to Russia via Sea by M/s. Gurukrupa Corporation Pvt. Ltd. a Mumbai-based exporter of fruits and vegetables regularly exporting fresh fruits and vegetables to the EU and the Middle East.

- Recently, Russia has shown keen interest in the procurement of tropical fruits from India with bananas being one of them, which significantly is a major Agri import of Russia, which was presently, primarily being imported from Ecquador, in Latin America.

Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai leave for Chandigarh from Delhi airport to meet farmer leaders in connection with the ongoing protest.

Here's what National Commission for Minorities chairman and BJP leader Iqbal Singh Lalpura said on party's National Council Meeting. "Our agenda (for upcoming elections) is 'Viksit Bharat'. We are commited to take our country forward and our mission is to win more than 400 seats (in 2024 Lok Sabha elections)."

On foreign policy, PM Narendra Modi says, "When I took oath in 2014, many of our critics said that what experience does Modi have outside a state. Many things were said about foreign policy. Recently I visited UAE and Qatar. The world is seeing how our relations with many countries are strong...Our relations are better in trade, tourism, and technology. Five Arab countries gave me the highest honour of their country, this is not the honour of PM Modi but the honour of the 140 crore* countrymen."

I thought the game would go to day five, we thought 150 overs would be comfortable for us to get them out. It was more about having overs (in hand) and not runs. By no means I expected the game to get over so soon: Rohit Sharma

Let Yashasvi Jaiswal play, he is in good form. Everyone is talking about him, I won’t say much: Rohit Sharma after record win in third Test against England

Basirhat subdivision court sends TMC leader Shibu Hazra to 8 days of police custody in connection with the Sandeshkhali violence case.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the Okha - Bet Dwarka signature bridge in Dwarka, Gujarat on February 25. The bridge is 2.75 km long and connects coastal village Okha to Bet Dwarka island which is so far accessible only via boats.

"Earthquake of Magnitude:5.1, Occurred on 18-02-2024, 16:50:32 IST, Lat: 36.68 & Long: 66.75, Depth: 15 Km ,Location: Afghanistan," posts National Center for Seismology.

IND vs ENG, Chasing 556 runs, England could score only 122 runs and were all out. India win by 434 runs and this is India's biggest-ever win in terms of runs in their 577-Test history.

The 434-run win in Rajkot Test against England is India's biggest ever in terms of run-margin.

BJP President JP Nadda welcomes and offers shawl to PM Modi during Chief Ministers' Conclave at Delhi's Bharat Mandapam.

On the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the Chief Minister Solar Self-Employment Scheme (MSSY) was revised on 13 March 2023. After this, 839 applications have been received on the Mukhyamantri Swarozgar Yojana portal for the establishment of 20/25/50/100 and 200-kilowatt power plants in the state. The important thing is that LOI has also been issued for 297 applications. In the modified MSSY scheme, out of 839 applications, 297 numbers of LOAs with a cumulative capacity of 44.94 MWp have been issued so far, as against the estimated investment of ₹13.6 crore in the erstwhile MSSY scheme with an installed capacity of 3.43 MW, thereby creating employment opportunities in the state. Simultaneously, investment opportunities worth about ₹ 224 crore will be created: CMO, Uttarakhand

On Farmers' 4th round of meeting with central govt, former Haryana CM and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda says, " I hope they can find a solution. Govt must take a decision on MSP..."

On Farmers' 4th round of meeting with central govt, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal says, " I hope a solution comes out"

- We have to connect with everyone, including those who for some reason have still not connected with BJP: PM Modi.
- "They questioned our armed forces after the surgical strikes. When the airstrikes were conducted (in Pakistan's Balakot), they asked for proof. Congress never leaves a stone unturned to insult our armed forces," says PM Narendra Modi at BJP's national council meeting in Delhi's Bharat Mandapam.

"It took almost 60 years for India to become 1 trillion dollar economy. In 2014, when the country gave us an opportunity, 2 trillion mark also looked difficult but in 10 years we added an extra 2 trillion dollars to our economy. India was the 11th largest economy in 2014 and we took only 10 years to bring it to the 5th position."

"India is setting big goals today… We are preparing for the Youth Olympics in 2029. We are working to host the Olympics in our country in 2036... We are reducing India's dependence on foreign countries and hence we are setting big goals and working for it. In the future, we will see such an India in which there will be no need to import oil or fertilizers worth lakhs of crores of rupees from abroad. Our palm oil mission will empower our farmers so much that they will save the country's money."

"We need to pull our socks up for the next 100 days, and need to reach out to every new voter, labharthi and every section of the society. We need to gain the trust of everyone," says PM Modi, addressing BJP's two-day national council meeting at Delhi's Bharat Mandapam.PM Modi's address at BJP's two-day national council meeting in Bharat Mandapam

No one will be deprived of social welfare schemes in Bengal even if he does not have Aadhaar card: Mamata Banerjee

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at the BJP's national convention said, "INDIA Alliance has no ideology, intention or leadership... Gandhi Ji had a dream of dissolving the Congress after India's independence and I believe that the current big leader of this alliance is working to dissolve the Congress."

"I am constantly in touch with Kamal Nath, the Congress leadership is having discussions with him. A person like him, who started with Congress, whom we all considered to be the third son of Indira Gandhi, has always supported Congress and has been a pillar of the Congress party. He was the cabinet minister in the Centre, State Congress Committee President and Chief Minister. He got all the posts. I don't think he will leave the party."

The JMM-led alliance in Jharkhand is "strong" and there is no threat to the coalition government in the state, Chief Minister Champai Soren said on Sunday amid reports of resentment brewing among a section of Congress legislators over the induction of four party MLAs as ministers.
Soren, who is in the national capital, will hold talks with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

Regulator BCAS has directed airlines to ensure that all baggage of passengers are delivered within 30 minutes of landing of a flight at an airport. The directive from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) to seven scheduled airlines also comes against the backdrop of delays in passengers getting their baggage after landing of a flight.

An official statement on February 18 said that BCAS has asked the airlines to implement the required measures to ensure timely delivery of baggage by February 26. The directive was issued on February 16 to seven airlines -- Air India, IndiGo, Akasa Air, SpiceJet, Vistara, AIX Connect, and Air India Express.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren has given the go-ahead for a caste-based survey in the state on the lines of neighbouring Bihar, a senior official said on Sunday.

The CM has directed the personnel department to prepare a draft (SoP for conducting the survey) and place it before the cabinet for approval, he said. If everything goes according to the plan, the exercise will begin after the Lok Sabha elections, the official said. If everything goes according to the plan, the exercise will begin after the Lok Sabha elections, the official said.

(From PTI)

Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi says, "We've been facing now these tragedies that are coming out of man-animal conflict for some time. And in the last few days, there have been a larger number of them...We've told the administration that they need to pay the compensation quickly and effectively and not delay the compensation that has been happening over the last couple of months. We also suggested to look into setting up and testing an early warning system...There's a question of interstate cooperation between Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. We mentioned to them that we will also play a role in trying to improve the coordination. However, the three states must coordinate with each other as far as this issue is concerned. Finally, the medical college is a critical issue. I don't understand why it is taking so long to develop and build a medical college here... I've written to the chief minister and I would request him again to please expedite this matter. It is almost becoming a joke now."

- A white paper on the Indian economy during the tenure of the UPA government was released at the BJP convention.

- It recorded details of financial irregularities during the last ten years of UPA government.

- Four persons on their way to a cricket match died in Amravati in Maharashtra on Sunday morning when their tempo was hit by a truck, a police official said.

- The tempo had 21 members of a cricket team from Amravati city and the accident took place at Shingnapur Phata in Nandgaon Khandeshwar taluka at around 7:30am, Superintendent of Police Vishal Anand said.

- Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "INDIA alliance and Congress party are destroying the spirit of democracy in the country. They coloured the democracy of the country with corruption, nepotism, appeasement and casteism."

- "Such nepotistic parties were engaged in making a democratic arrangement to ensure that public opinion never emerged independently. PM Modi achieved development in 10 years by eliminating corruption, nepotism, appeasement and casteism," he added.

- Shah also said that if family-run politics existed in BJP, then son of a tea seller would not have become country's PM.

- Yashasvi Jaiswal's unbeaten 149 and Shubman Gill's classy 91 powered India to 314 for 4 at lunch on day 4 of the third Test against England, extending the current overall lead to 440.

- Resuming at 196 for 2, India lost the wickets of Gill, who missed out on a century and night-watchman Kuldeep Yadav (27).

- The country has decided that PM Modi will again become the PM of the country, there is no doubt about it, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah at BJP's National Convention in Delhi.

- PM Narendra Modi was also felicitated by party leaders at the Convention.

- Amit Shah further said, "In 75 years, this country has seen 17 Lok Sabha elections, 22 governments and 15 Prime Ministers. Every government in the country has tried to bring development as per its own time."

- "But today I can say without any confusion that the work of overall development, development of every sector and development of every individual has been done only in the 10 years of PM Narendra Modi," he further added.

- India's power consumption increased 7.5 per cent on-year to 1354.97 billion units (BU) in the April-January period of this financial year, indicating an uptick in economic activities across the country.

- As per PTI, power consumption in the country has increased to 1354.97 billion units (BU) in the April-January period of this financial year, from 1259.49 BU in the April-January period of fiscal 2022-23, according to government data.

- Senior India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be back in action and compete in the remainder of the third Test against England, the BCCI confirmed.

- Ashwin was forced to leave for Chennai to attend to his ailing mother, hours after reaching the coveted milestone of 500 Test wickets on the second day of the match.

- Supreme Court to hear tomorrow Sharad Pawar’s plea against election commission granting the NCP symbol to the Ajit Pawar faction.

- Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar had said that the Modi government was fully cognisant of farmers' issues, adding that the ongoing talks between the farmers and the Centre will definitely lead to an effective redressal.

- The Haryana government on Saturday had extended the ban on mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts by two more days till February 19.

- Multiple layers of barricades and concrete blocks have been put up and security personnel deployed at Delhi's borders with Haryana also in view of the protest.

- Farmer leaders, including from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha that had called for the march, will be meeting Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai at 6 pm in Chandigarh -- the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.

- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president JP Nadda to hold a Chief Minister's Council meeting of BJP-ruled states, regarding the preparations for the Lok Sabha elections and the ongoing schemes of the Central and State Governments today at Bharat Mandapam, Delhi.

- Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states will attend the meeting.

- Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday visited the houses of two victims of the recent wild elephant attacks in this high range district, and consoled their family members.

- Gandhi reached neighbouring Kannur district on Saturday night after halting his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Varanasi abruptly in the wake of intense protests by locals seeking solutions to the human-animal conflicts in his constituency.

- In a major reshuffle in its IPS cadre, the West Bengal government removed senior officer Sumit Kumar from the post of DIG (Barasat Range) and made him DIG (Security), an official said.

- Kumar was replaced by DIG (Malda Range) Bhaskar Mukherjee, he added.

- Kumar's removal came after recent incidents of violence in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district although senior officials in the state government described it as a "routine shuffle".

- Pakistan's election commission has formed a high-level committee to probe the allegations made by a senior bureaucrat that widespread rigging aided by the judiciary and the top election body happened against jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

- Former Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha alleged that the candidates who were “losing” the elections “were made to win” in the city. He claimed that 13 candidates from Rawalpindi were forcefully declared winners.

- One of the prime accused in the case of alleged land grab and sexual harassment of women in Sandeshkhali in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district was arrested on Saturday, police said.

- Local TMC leader Shibaprasad Hazra, who has been named in police complaints along with party colleagues and other two prime accused Shajahan Sheikh and Uttam Sardar, was nabbed from a hideout in Sandeshkhali.

- Sandeshkhali grabbed attention after a mob attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on January 5. The officials went there to search the premises of Shajahan Sheikh in connection with an alleged ration distribution scam.

- The protesting women in Sandeshkhali alleged that Shajahan and his "gang" including Hazra and Sardar captured swathes of land by force, besides sexually harassing them.

- Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released on parole early Sunday from a Bangkok hospital where he spent six months serving time for corruption-related offenses.

- Thaksin was seen wearing a neck support inside one of the cars in a convoy leaving the Police General Hospital just before sunrise, and he arrived at his residence in western Bangkok less than an hour later.

- Farmers’ unions are “hell bent” on stopping the lifeline of northern states and their movement has instilled a “sense of fear” among the people of the state, the Haryana government submitted before the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday.

- The court had on Tuesday, while hearing a petition pertaining to the farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo’ march, issued notices to the Centre, and the states of Haryana and Punjab, to file status reports.

- The panchayat also passed a resolution asking the SKM to launch a tractor march to Delhi in the last week of February if the government fails to accept their demands, said BKU leader Tikait.

- The panchayat also condemned the police action against farmers in Haryana and Punjab, he added.

- Besides a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, no hike in electricity tariff.

- They are also demanding withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.

- General Secretary of Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Sarvan Singh Pandher said, "It is our 6th day at the Shambhu border. Today we are also holding talks with the govt."

- "The govt has asked for some time and said that it will discuss the matter with the union ministers and find a solution to it," he added.

- Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Saturday announced that farmers will stage dharnas in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand on February 21 to press their demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP.

- Tikait said a resolution was passed during the meeting asking the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) to launch a tractor march to Delhi in the last week of February if the government does not accept farmers’ demands.

- A day before the crucial meeting with Union ministers, farm leaders on Saturday asked the Centre to bring an ordinance on giving a legal guarantee to MSP, while a tractor march and dharnas were held in support of farmers protesting at the borders of Punjab.

- Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Saturday demanded that the Centre should bring an ordinance on giving a legal guarantee to MSP, a key demand of protesting farmers.

- Stating that the Centre has a right to take "political" decisions, Pandher said, "If the government wants resolution of farmers' protest, then it should bring an ordinance with an immediate effect that it will enact a law on MSP, then discussion can proceed further."

- "It (Centre) can bring the ordinance overnight, if it wants so," he added.

- Union ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai and farmer leaders from Punjab will meet today for the fourth round of talks.

- The two sides met earlier on February 8, 12 and 15, but those talks remained inconclusive.