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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In phone call, PM Modi, US President Trump resolve to promote global peace, security
New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on Monday vowed to work towards a "trusted" partnership between India and US and advance global peace and security in their first phone conversation since the American leader's inauguration last week.
Modi and Trump exchanged views on global issues, including the situation in West Asia and Ukraine, and deliberated on measures to boost bilateral cooperation in areas such as technology, trade, investment, energy and defence, an Indian readout said.
The two leaders agreed to meet soon, it said.
"Delighted to speak with my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump @POTUS.
Congratulated him on his historic second term," Modi said on 'X'.
"We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership. We will work together for the welfare of our people and towards global peace, prosperity, and security," he said.
In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said the two leaders "reaffirmed" their commitment for a "mutually beneficial and trusted partnership".
"They discussed various facets of the wide-ranging bilateral Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and measures to advance it, including in the areas of technology, trade, investment, energy and defence," it said.
"The two leaders exchanged views on global issues, including the situation in West Asia and Ukraine, and reiterated their commitment to work together for promoting global peace, prosperity and security," the PMO said.
"The leaders agreed to remain in touch and meet soon at an early mutually convenient date," it added.
It is not immediately known whether the issues of immigration and tariff figured in the talks.
Like in many countries, there have been some concerns in India as well over the Trump administration's approach on immigration and tariff.
President Trump has already talked about slapping "100 per cent tariffs" on the BRICS grouping, a bloc that includes India too.
It is learnt that the phone call was initiated from the Indian side.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said last week that India is looking for "bolder, bigger and a more ambitious" relationship with the US and indicated its readiness to work with the Trump administration to address issues like illegal immigration and trade.
The phone conversation between Modi and Trump came six days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held separate meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in Washington.
Jaishankar also attended the Quad foreign ministers' meeting in the American capital. The meeting was the Trump administration's first foreign policy engagement.
At a media briefing in Washington on January 22, Jaishankar said his meetings signalled that the Trump administration "prioritising" the bilateral relationship with India.
The external affairs minister also said that there was agreement between the two sides about the need to be bolder, bigger, and more ambitious about the bilateral relationship.
Asked about the Trump administration's policy on tariff and immigration, Jaiswal said on Friday that India is looking at addressing issues in a constructive manner.
"Our approach has always been to address issues in a constructive manner which is in keeping with the interests of both countries," he had said at his weekly media briefing last week.
"We remain in close communication with the US administration and would like to continue to work towards strengthening our economic partnership further," he said.
India is also keen to continue cooperation under the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) that was launched during the tenure of the Biden administration.
