Unsurprising that India's farmers are worried about agricultural reforms: US lawmaker
'Citizens have every right to protest peaceably'
Washington, Dec 9: In the midst of a global pandemic, it is unsurprising that India's farmers are worried about the impact of the recent agricultural reforms, a top American lawmaker has said, coming out in support of the agitating farmers who have been protesting against the new farm laws.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other states have been protesting on various borders of Delhi since November 26, seeking repeal of three farm laws enacted in September.
Dubbing these laws as "anti-farmer", these farmers claim that the newly enacted legislations would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporations.
However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture.
"In the midst of a global pandemic, it's unsurprising that India's farmers are worried about the impact of recent agricultural reforms. As we know from our own experience in the US, citizens have every right to protest peaceably, be accommodated and their concerns listened to," Congressman Brad Sherman, Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, said on Tuesday.
"As chair of the Caucus on India & Indian Americans, I've proudly championed the close partnership between the world's largest and oldest democracies. It's a partnership built on both interests and values, including a shared dedication to human rights and freedom of speech," he said in a series of tweets.
India has called the remarks by foreign leaders and politicians on protests by farmers as "ill-informed" and "unwarranted", asserting that the matter pertains to the internal affairs of a democratic country.
"The farmers yearning to be heard are another powerful example of how peaceful protest is just one of the many cherished democratic traditions binding our countries together," Sharman said.
Congressman-elect David G Valadao also supported Indian farmers.
"As farmers peacefully make their voices heard, the Government of India has a responsibility to allow their citizens to exercise this right to assemble," Valadao said.
Farmer leaders have been firm on their demand for repeal of three new farm laws. They have claimed that the laws will benefit corporates and end the mandi system and the minimum support price (MSP) regime.
The government has maintained that it is committed to the welfare of farmers and have presented these laws as major reforms for their benefits.
A late-night meeting called by Home Minister Amit Shah ended in failure on Tuesday as farmer leaders rejected the government's offer to amend new farm laws, saying they would settle for nothing less than the scrapping of the legislations, while many of them threatened to boycott Wednesday's scheduled talks with ministers.
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Delhi court sentences Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia, associate to life imprisonment
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has sentenced Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia and his associate to life imprisonment under MCOCA provisions, but refused the death penalty saying the offences did not fall under the category of 'rarest of the rare cases'.
Additional Sessions Judge Vandana Jain sentenced Gulia and Dhirpal alias Kana to rigorous imprisonment for life under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
In an order dated December 13, the judge said, "Death sentence can only be awarded in 'rarest of the rare cases' wherein the murder is committed in an extremely inhumane, barbarous, grotesque or dastardly manner as to arouse umbrage of the community at large."
The judge said that on weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, it could be concluded that the present case did not fall under the category, and so, the death penalty could not be imposed upon the convicts.
"Thus, both the convicts are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs 3 lakh each, for committing the offence under Section 3 of MCOCA," she said.
The public prosecutor, seeking the death penalty for both the accused, submitted that they were involved in several unlawful activities while they were on bail in other cases.
He argued that the accused had shown no respect for the law and acted without any fear of legal consequences, and therefore did not deserve any leniency from the court.
The court noted that both convicts were involved in offences of murder, attempt to murder, extortion, robbery, house trespass, and criminal intimidation. Besides, they had misused the liberty of interim bail granted to them by absconding.
It said, "The terror of the convicts was such that it created fear psychosis in the mind of the general public, and they lost complete faith in the law enforcement agencies and chose to accede to the illegal demands of convicts. Despite suffering losses, they could not gather the courage to depose against them."
The court noted that Gulia was involved in at least 18 criminal cases, while Dhirpal had links to 10 serious offences.
It underlined that MCOCA had been enacted "keeping in view the fact that organised crime had come up as a serious threat to society, as it knew no territorial boundaries and is fuelled by illegal wealth generated by committing the offence of extortion, contract killings, kidnapping for ransom, collection of protection money, murder, etc."
Both accused persons had been convicted on December 10 in a case registered at Najafgarh police station. The police filed a chargesheet under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) and 4 (punishment for possessing unaccountable wealth on behalf of member of organised crime syndicate) of MCOCA.
