Farmers' protest march: Delhi Police orders 30,000 tear gas shells
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has placed orders for more than 30,000 tear gas shells, an official said, as the force prepares to prevent Punjab farmers from entering the national capital under their 'Dilli Chalo' protest.
Hundreds of farmers marching from Punjab have been stopped at the state's border with Haryana near Ambala, about 200 kilometers away from Delhi. Haryana security forces have used tear gas on them to try and disperse them.
A Delhi Police source said they are determined to not let the protesters enter the national capital should they advance.
As part of the preparation, the Delhi Police has already stocked up a large number of tear gas shells and ordered 30,000 more from the BSF's Tear Smoke Unit (TSU) located at Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior, an official said.
The freshly ordered shells are being brought to Delhi from Gwalior, he said.
A tear gas shell is an anti-riot equipment which is used by security forces to disperse crowd. The gas brings tears by creating irritation in the eyes.
A stock of tear gas shell was also ordered before the G20 Summit held in September 2023, the officer said, adding, a fresh order has been given in the wake of farmers' agitation.
Another officer said the age of each tear gas shell is three years after which their impact slowly weakens, but they are used upto seven years for practice purposes by the forces.
Under the Delhi Police norms, once a stock gets acquired, the shells are distributed to the district police and other units of the force.
Another officer said that in view of the farmers' protest, the fresh stock may be distributed to the outer, outer-north and east district police -- under whose jurisdiction the potential protest sites in the national capital fall.
The Delhi Police has made all logistical arrangements to stop the farmers at the Singhu (Sonipat side), Tikri (Bahadurgarh side) and Ghazipur (Ghaziabad side) borders.
Tikri comes under outer, Singhu under outer-north and Ghazipur in east district.
The security personnel deployed at these borders are already equipped with a large number of tear gas shells, water cannons and other anti-riot equipment.
The personnel deployed at the borders have been strictly asked to ensure not a single farmer or their tractor-trolley enters into the jurisdiction of the national capital.
The Delhi Police has issued prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for a month -- banning an assembly of five or more people, processions or rallies and the entry of tractor-trolleys ferrying people.
On the farmers who have gathered near the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana near Ambala, the Haryana police has also used tear gas shells, some of which they air-dropped through drones on protesting farmers.
The farmers seek to march to the national capital to press the Centre to agree to their various demands including a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price of crops, implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report, loan waiver among others.
Duing their protest in 2020, farmers from different states, mainly Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, had staged a sit-in at the Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri borders. They sat there from August 2020 to December 2021.
Police had to rush logistics in 2020 to check the entry of the farmers moving in a procession of tractors.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
