Punjab CM Amarinder Singh meets PM Modi, seeks repeal of farm laws
New Delhi, Aug 11: Punjab CM Amarinder Singh on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to immediately initiate steps for the repeal of the controversial farm laws.
He also sought amendment to the relevant law for including farmers in free legal aid category, the chief minister's office said.
The Punjab CM, who called on the prime minister here late this evening, submitted two separate letters, called for the immediate review and revocation of the three farm laws that have triggered widespread resentment among farmers of Punjab and other states.
Farmers have been protesting at Delhi borders since November 26 last year against the agriculture legislations and have demanded their immediate withdrawal.
The chief minister said the farmers' agitation had the potential of posing security threats to Punjab and the country with Pakistan-backed anti-India forces looking to exploit the farmers' discontent with the government, an official statement said.
He called for the prime minister's intervention for the expeditious redress of the concerns of farmers.
He said the Government of India should explore an enduring solution to end the continued agitation as it was not only impacting economic activities in Punjab but also had the potential to affect the social fabric, especially when political parties and groups take strong positions.
Amarinder Singh noted that he had earlier too sought the prime minister's appointment for a meeting with an all-party delegation from Punjab, his office said.
He also called for the need to compensate farmers for the management of paddy straw at the rate of Rs 100 per quintal and also to address the fears of DAP shortage, which could aggravate the farmers' problems and the crisis triggered by the farm laws.
In another letter, the chief minister stressed that due to the fragmentation of landholdings and persistent disputes with lessees and various market operators and agents, farmers are facing heightened litigation these days that has caused stress on their meagre financial resources.
Stressing the need to reduce the farmers' financial burden as a result of such litigation, he noted that the Central Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 provides free legal aid to certain categories of persons, who are perceived to be the vulnerable sections of society.
Pointing out that the country's farmers are also very vulnerable, he said they are, at times, compelled to commit suicide due to financial problems, even though they remain proud and prefer to till their land even at the cost of their lives.
"It is, thus, the need of the hour to amend Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, to include farmers and farm workers in the category of persons entitled to free legal services to pursue and defend themselves in the courts to secure their livelihood, Singh was quoted as saying in the statement.
He felt this step would help reduce cases of farmer suicides and ensure better protection of their legal and financial rights.
The chief minister urged the prime minister to advise the central ministries dealing with farmer welfare and laws to carry out necessary amendments to the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, in the larger interest of farmers.
Punjab CM @capt_amarinder met PM @narendramodi. pic.twitter.com/3Lc6ccc8xW
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 11, 2021
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EC demands extra security as unrest grips Bangladesh afresh
Dhaka (PTI): The Election Commission (EC) has demanded extra security for its chief, other commissioners and officials as fresh unrest visibly gripped Bangladesh after gunmen shot an upcoming parliamentary polls candidate and frontline leader of last year's violent street movement dubbed 'July Uprising'.
"The EC has written to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) urging comprehensive security arrangements for the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Election Commissioners (ECs), senior officials of the Election Commission Secretariat," the state-run BSS news agency reported on late Saturday.
The EC simultaneously sought the extra security for its field-level offices ahead of the 13th national election, as two of them came under attack in southeastern Lakshmipur and southwestern Pirojpur by unidentified miscreants after the announcement of the schedule for the upcoming polls on Thursday.
The commission demanded an additional escort vehicle for the CEC, while one such police escort with a vehicle was currently in place for him. It asked for round-the-clock police escorts for the four commissioners and the senior secretary.
The letter said the enhanced security measures were "urgent and necessary," while EC officials said their 10 regional offices, 64 district election offices and 522 sub-district level offices would store important documents and election materials.
The EC on Thursday said the upcoming parliamentary election would be held on February 12 next year, while a day later, Sharif Osman Hadi was shot from a close range in the head, critically wounding him, as he initiated his election campaign from a constituency in the capital.
Critically ill former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) simultaneously asked Muhammad Yunus' government to provide security for all candidates in the upcoming election after the attack on Hadi, who leads a radical right-wing cultural group called Inquiab Mancha.
"We demand that the real culprit be identified immediately and brought under the law, and we call upon this government to ensure the security of all candidates without delay," BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said.
Hadi was also a frontline leader of last year's student-led violent uprising that toppled then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024.
His Inquilab Mancha was also at the forefront of a campaign to disband the Awami League, which the interim government complied with in May this year, disqualifying the party from contesting the polls.
The government on Saturday ordered a nationwide security clampdown called 'Operation Devil Hunt 2' amid escalated fears over the law and order situation and promised to issue firearms licenses for election candidates for their own security.
Home adviser (retd) Lieutenant General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said the government had taken steps to ensure special security for the "frontline fighters" of the July Uprising and promised to issue firearms licenses for the election candidates.
He emphasised that the second phase of the 'Devil Hunt' was aimed at helping ensure public safety and combat the growing threat of illegal arms.
The operation was initially launched in February this year following protests over an attack on the private house of a former minister of the ousted government in the northern suburb of the capital, when it targeted alleged "henchmen" and supporters of the now disbanded Awami League.
