Farmers' agitation on path shown by Mahatma Gandhi will be successful: Sonia Gandhi
New Delhi: Calling Mahatma Gandhi the "biggest sympathiser" of farmers, labourers and the working class, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday expressed confidence that the agitation against three recently enacted "black laws" in the agriculture sector will become successful and the peasants will emerge victorious.
Paying rich tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on their birth anniversary, she said while the Mahatma was the biggest sympathiser of farmers, labourers and the working class, Shastri gave the slogan of 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan'.
The Congress president's remarks came in the form of a video message on a day her party is staging dharnas in every district across the country in favour of farmers and against the three farm laws.
Noting that Mahatma Gandhi used to say that the soul of India resides in India's villages, fields and barns, she said the country's farmers and farm labourers are agitating on the streets against the three "anti-farmer black laws".
"The Modi government is making the farmers cry tears of blood, even though they grow foodgrains for the country with their sweat," she said.
Sonia Gandhi said the Congress party has always made laws with public consent and has kept the interests of people foremost before enacting laws, as democracy also means that every decision of the country has the consent of countrymen.
"But does the Modi government believe in this? Perhaps the Modi government does not remember that it was not able to change the 'Right to Adequate Compensation Law' for rights of farmers through an ordinance.
"The Congress party will continue to fight against the three black laws. Today our workers are agitating in favour of farmers and labourers in every assembly constituency. I want to say with confidence that this agitation of farmers and the Congress will be successful and the farmers will win," she said in her video message.
The Congress chief said during the coronavirus pandemic, all had demanded from the government that every needy countryman should get free foodgrains.
"Was it possible that without our farmer brothers, we could manage two meals for crores of our people," she asked.
"Today, the country's prime minister is doing gross injustice to our 'Annadata' farmers. The laws were made for the farmers, but they were not even consulted. The issue was not even discussed...their interests were set aside by talking to their select friends before framing the three black laws," she said.
Gandhi said when the voice of the farmer was not even heard while framing the laws in Parliament, they were compelled to take to the streets to express their voice peacefully on the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi.
"Far from listening to their voice, the anti-democratic, anti-people government blew lathis on them. What do our farmers and farm labourers want. They only want the right price for their hard earned produce in these laws and this is their basic right," she noted.
The Congress chief said when grain markets will be abolished, hoarders will be given a free hand to hoard foodgrains and the farmers' land will be handed over to capitalists for farming. "Then who will protect the crores of small farmers," she asked.
Observing that the future of farm laborers and others is linked to the farmers, she asked, "What will happen to small shopkeepers and labourers working in grain markets? Who will protect their rights? Has the Modi government thought about this?"
She said the Modi government should remember that it was not able to change the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act through an ordinance.
Party leader Rahul Gandhi while greeting fellow citizens on Gandhi Jayanti quoted Mahatma Gandhi's lines in his message, saying -- "I will not fear anyone in the world ... I will not bow down to anyone's injustice, I will win over untruth with truth and I can bear all the sufferings while opposing the untruth."
Sharing a quote of Gandhiji, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in a tweet in Hindi, "...it is our duty to stand with the weak through our politics."
Congress leader Randeep Surjewala also quoted Mahatma Gandhi's words to say: "The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members."
"On Gandhiji's 151st Birth Anniversary, let each one of us remember it again," he tweeted.
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EC dismisses scope for wrongdoing at strongrooms; prohibitory orders around Kolkata counting centres
Kolkata (PTI): A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spent hours at the EVM strongroom of her Bhabanipur constituency alleging possibilities of malpractices, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal on Friday asserted there is no scope for wrongdoing at the counting centres.
Following tensions around two counting centres in Kolkata late on Thursday, police clamped prohibitory orders on gatherings outside all seven strongrooms in the city.
Stating that round-the-clock CCTV monitoring of strongrooms was in place, Agarwal dismissed the allegations as "baseless".
TMC spokesperson and Beleghata constituency candidate Kunal Ghosh said that party workers and poll aspirants were keeping a strict vigil at the counting centres, where the EVMs are stored in strongrooms, upon directions of party supremo Mamata Banerjee.
"There is no scope for any wrongdoing given the arrangements made to secure the EVMs. The Centres have been kept under thorough CCTV coverage and their live-streamed footage can be seen from outside," Agarwal told reporters.
"One should have reason and evidence for making allegations," he said, maintaining that there were no grounds for levelling charges of EVM tampering or pre-counting malpractice.
Two counting centres in Kolkata witnessed high drama late on Thursday evening after TMC leaders alleged a lack of transparency and possible malpractice at the strongrooms housing sealed EVMs of the assembly polls, which concluded on April 29.
Mamata Banerjee herself landed up at the Sakhawat Memorial School counting centre and stayed put there for about four hours. She emerged from the premises past midnight and warned against any attempts to tamper with the counting process, demanding greater transparency.
TMC leaders and candidates Sashi Panja and Kunal Ghosh held a sit-in outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra counting centre on Thursday evening, alleging unauthorised activities inside the strongroom amid the absence of TMC agents.
Matters came to a head after a large number of supporters from both TMC and BJP camps gathered outside the venue, shouting slogans till they were dispersed by security forces.
The EC, however, dismissed the claim, clarifying that poll officials were engaged in the task of segregating postal ballots as per due process and the strongrooms remained secure, asserting all political parties for the mandatory segregation activity were duly notified.
On Friday, Kolkata Police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS around all seven designated strong rooms in the city.
As per the order issued by Police Commissioner Ajay Nand, the restrictions prohibited the assembly of five or more persons within a 200-metre radius of each strongroom, along with a ban on processions, demonstrations, and carrying of weapons or explosive materials.
The measure, which aims to prevent any breach of peace, violence, or disturbance during the storage of ballot papers and polled EVMs, will remain in force until the commencement of counting on May 4.
Besides the two counting centres in question, the prohibitory orders were also clamped around the Hastings House complex, APC Polytechnic College, St. Thomas Boys' High School, Ballygunge Government High School and the David Hare Training College counting premises.
A senior police officer said enhanced security arrangements have been made at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, the counting centre for several assembly seats in north and east Kolkata housing EVM strong rooms.
"Additional CAPFs and armed police forces have also been deployed under the supervision of an additional commissioner and a deputy commissioner of police," Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Kolkata, Rupesh Kumar, told reporters after visiting the area.
Expressing apprehension that unauthorised movements might occur when a section of postal ballots is brought in the evening, Kunal Ghosh said on Friday morning that the party's polling agents and candidates have been alerted about the matter.
Minister Shashi Panja, who also arrived at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in the morning, maintained that "transparency" should be ensured for all strongroom activities.
Ghosh told reporters on Friday that though they had seen some movement in a strongroom that allegedly stored postal ballots, there was no such movement on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Banerjee's challenger at Bhabanipur and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari took a dig at the chief minister for her late-night visit to the counting centre.
"I want to reassure the people of Bhabanipur and of West Bengal that the TMC candidate and outgoing chief minister was prevented from taking any additional advantage. Despite her best intentions to the contrary, she wasn't allowed to act in violation of rules," Adhikari wrote on social media platforms, posting a picture of Banerjee sitting at what appeared to be an area outside the counting centre strong room.
"Till such time she was present there, my election agent, advocate Surjyanil Das personally positioned himself at the spot keeping a tight watch on her so that she isn't able to take recourse to improper means," he added.
Security forces kept a strict vigil in and around counting centres and strongrooms in Kolkata and other districts where EVM machines used in the state assembly elections are stored, an official said.
Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata's Bhabanipur, which saw high drama till the early hours of Friday with the chief minister spending several hours at the counting centre, wore a peaceful look in the morning with security personnel guarding the area.
