Farmers fly kites to take on drone dropping tear gas shells on farmers at Shambhu border
Chandigarh: A few young farmers, part of the 'Delhi Chalo' march, on Wednesday took to flying kites hoping to bring down a drone deployed by the Haryana security personnel to drop tear gas shells on protesters at the Shambhu border near Ambala.
The protesters were angry over the use of the unmanned aerial vehicle for dropping tear gas canisters, which left many of them injured.
"We are flying kites to bring the drone down," said one of the young farmers.
Another farmer said, "It's not right hurling tear gas shells on farmers. It is completely wrong."
Kite flying has always been a craze among people especially children and youth in Punjab. Skies dot with colourful kites of different sizes and shapes especially during the Lohri festival and Basant Panchmi.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation to put pressure on the Centre for their demand of a law on minimum support price for crops and loan waivers.
Farmers from Punjab have assembled at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders as part of their 'Delhi Chalo' call.
Can you imagine that farmers are battling Modi govt’s tear gas shell firing drones with kites?
— Praveen (@praveenpscs) February 14, 2024
You can see in a video kite flown by a protesting farmer forced govt drone to retreat.
Yes, This is Basant Panchami and farmer pic.twitter.com/kVmv1SgneS
Farmers are flying kites to prevent drones from flying at Sambhu border. pic.twitter.com/gwGor919mM
— Nikhil Choudhary (@NikhilCh_) February 14, 2024
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Reports on CM Naidu’s VB-G RAM G Act concerns significant: Siddaramaiah
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said reports of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu flagging concerns over the VB-G RAM G Act’s funding pattern are politically significant and have implications for Centre-State relations.
These concerns assumed importance as they come from a key ally of the BJP whose support is critical to the Narendra Modi government, he said.
Sharing a news article titled "Naidu seeks assistance to state for enforcing new rural jobs law" on his official handle on 'X', Siddaramaiah said the VB-G RAM G Act must be repealed and the MGNREGA Act restored, with necessary reforms.
"The reports that the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu has raised concerns with the Union Government over the implementation of the VB-G RAM G Act - especially regarding the altered funding pattern and the additional burden on states - are politically significant and consequential for Centre–State relations," he said.
Siddaramaiah claimed that for months, the Congress party and opposition-ruled states, including Karnataka, have warned that the VB-G RAM G Act undermines cooperative federalism by shifting financial responsibility onto states.
"A BJP ally now echoing these concerns exposes a clear rupture within the NDA and undermines the BJP’s defence of the law," he said.
Siddaramaiah demanded that the union government and the BJP explain why the same objections were earlier dismissed as political criticism, saying the contrast between the two laws is clear.
He highlighted that under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), rural employment was a legal right backed by assured central funding.
"Under the new Act, that certainty is lost. States are required to implement the programme while sharing the cost, without any statutory guarantee of funds. What was once a guaranteed right of the people has been reduced to a matter of negotiation," the Karanataka CM alleged.
He further alleged that this shift has serious implications, saying when a CM is compelled to seek “alternative financial support” through private discussions, it signals that access to funds is being determined by bargaining power rather than by law.
"In the present political context, this raises the risk that allocations may be influenced by political alignment, adversely affecting Opposition-ruled states, including Karnataka," he said.
Siddaramaiah said if NDA partners, especially the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, find the new framework unsustainable, these concerns must be raised openly in Parliament. They cannot be addressed through selective concessions or private assurances.
"The developments reported today make it clear that the VB-G RAM G Act must be repealed and the MGNREGA Act restored, with necessary reforms. Employment security cannot be converted into a negotiable arrangement. Cooperative federalism must be sustained through guaranteed funding and equal treatment of all states - not through uncertainty and coalition arithmetic," he added.
