I stand with my party and farmers, says Sunny Deol on protests; gets trolled
Shimla, Dec 7: BJP MP and actor Sunny Deol says he believes the government at the Centre always thinks about the betterment of farmers and hopes the party will ensure the right outcome after talks with farmers protesting against the new agricultural laws.
Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have gathered at various border points of Delhi since November 26 as part of their protest against the BJP-led central government farm laws.
The protesting farmers are worried the new laws will eliminate the safety cushion of a Minimum Support Price (MSP) and procurement system, while rendering ineffective the mandi system that ensures earnings for various stakeholders in the farm sector.
Deol on Sunday evening issued a statement on his Twitter handle in Hindi, saying the matter is between the farmers and government, but there are people who are trying to gain something out of the agitation.
"I know that many people want to take advantage of the situation and are creating problems. They are not thinking of farmers. They may have their own agenda.
"I stand with my party and farmers and will always be with farmers. Our government always thinks of the betterment of farmers and I am sure that the government will ensure the right outcome after holding talks with farmers," the BJP MP from Gurdaspur said in a statement.
The 64-year-old actor also distanced himself from Punjabi actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu's stance on the farmers protest, saying he has nothing to do with the latter's comments.
"Deep Sidhu, who was with me during the election has not been with me for a long time and whatever he is speaking, he is saying on his own. I am in no way related to his activities," Deol added.
The farmers, who have called for a Bharat Bandh on Tuesday, fear the new farm laws will dismantle the minimum support price system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.
Last week, Deol tested positive for coronavirus and is currently under home quarantine at a farmhouse near Manali in Kullu district and is recovering well.
He had undergone a shoulder surgery at Mumbai and was recuperating in Manali.
I stand with Chaddha and Damini #SunnyDeol https://t.co/M6N1ZY2xR4
— Vaibhav Bamane (@VaibhavBamane) December 7, 2020
I stand with Vegans and Non-Vegetarians. https://t.co/kdXeDTsOeJ
— Swati K. (@mynameswatik) December 7, 2020
#FarmerPolitics #BharatBandh #FarmersWithModi #FarmerPolitics #नहीं_चाहिए_भाजपा #FarmerProtest #COVID19 #IndiaSupportFarmerProtest #TakeBackFarmLaws #FarmersWithPmModi @iamsunnydeol @BJP4India
— MissMeme (@Miss_Meme01) December 7, 2020
Sunny Deol : I stand with farmers and BJP
so basically #SunnyDeol be like : pic.twitter.com/pbId9DuyYr
SunnyDeol -I stand with farmers and the government..
— Dee J (@jiddi_kudi) December 7, 2020
Meanwhile Indians to him#SunnyDeol pic.twitter.com/6dP4bJWqcB
Sunny deol is supporting both BJP and farmers and it's like someone support Britishers and Indians both...#FarmersProtest #SunnyDeol
— Vishal Singh Rajput (@Vishal_singh25) December 7, 2020
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Trump sues BBC for USD 10 billion, alleges defamation over edited Jan 6 speech
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Monday seeking USD 10 billion in damages from the BBC, accusing the British broadcaster of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices.
The 33-page lawsuit accuses the BBC of broadcasting a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump,” calling it “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 US presidential election.
It accused the BBC of “splicing together two entirely separate parts of President Trump's speech on January 6, 2021” in order to ”intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what President Trump said.”
The lawsuit, filed in a Florida court, seeks USD 5 billion in damages for defamation and USD 5 billion for unfair trade practices.
The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
The broadcaster apologised last month to Trump over the edit of the Jan. 6 speech. But the publicly funded BBC rejected claims it had defamed him, after Trump threatened legal action.
BBC chairman Samir Shah had called it an “error of judgment,” which triggered the resignations of the BBC's top executive and its head of news.
The speech took place before some of Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol as Congress was poised to certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election that Trump falsely alleged was stolen from him.
The BBC had broadcast the hourlong documentary — titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” — days before the 2024 US presidential election. It spliced together three quotes from two sections of the 2021 speech, delivered almost an hour apart, into what appeared to be one quote in which Trump urged supporters to march with him and “fight like hell.” Among the parts cut out was a section where Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.
Trump said earlier Monday that he was suing the BBC “for putting words in my mouth.”
“They actually put terrible words in my mouth having to do with Jan. 6 that I didn't say, and they're beautiful words that I said, right?" the president said unprompted during an appearance in the Oval Office. "They're beautiful words, talking about patriotism and all of the good things that I said. They didn't say that, but they used terrible words.”
The president's lawsuit was filed in Florida. Deadlines to bring the case in British courts expired more than a year ago.
Legal experts have brought up potential challenges to a case in the US, given that the documentary was not shown in the country.
The lawsuit alleges that people in the US can watch the BBC's original content, including the “Panorama” series, which includes the documentary, by using the subscription streaming platform BritBox or a virtual private network service.
The 103-year-old BBC is a national institution funded through an annual license fee of 174.50 pounds (USD 230) paid by every household that watches live TV or BBC content. Bound by the terms of its charter to be impartial, it typically faces especially intense scrutiny and criticism from both conservatives and liberals.
