New Delhi (PTI): The INDIA bloc will put pressure on the government and ensure that the farmers get a legal guarantee for MSP, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday after he met a delegation of farmer leaders in Parliament House complex.

The delegation of farmer leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka apprised Gandhi of the issues being faced by the tillers.

"We will have a discussion with INDIA bloc leaders and will put pressure on the government to ensure that the farmers get a legal guarantee for MSP," Gandhi told reporters after the meeting.

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Congress leaders Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa,Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Dharamvir Gandhi, Amar Singh, Deepender Singh Hooda and Jai Prakash were also present in the meeting.

The delegation comprised 12 farmer leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Sources said they apprised Gandhi of the issues being faced by farmers in their respective states.

 

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Imphal/Kolkata (PTI): Five people were killed in fresh violence in Manipur's Jiribam district on Saturday morning, police said.

One person was shot dead in his sleep while four others were killed in subsequent exchange of fire between armed men of two warring communities, a police officer said.

Militants entered the house of the person who lived alone in an isolated location around 5 km from the district headquarters and shot him dead in his sleep, he said.

After the killing, a heavy exchange of fire broke out between armed men of the warring communities in the hills around 7 km from the district headquarters, leading to the deaths of four armed persons, including three hills-based militants, the officer said.

Further details are awaited.

Earlier this week, fresh arson broke out in the district after suspected "village volunteers" burnt down an abandoned three-room house of a retired police officer at Jakuradhor in Borobekra police station said.

Tribal body Indigenous Tribes Advocacy Committee (Pherzawl and Jiribam) denied any involvement in the incident.

The district witnessed fresh violence despite representatives of the Meitei and Hmar communities reaching an agreement to restore normalcy and "prevent incidents of arson and firing" in a meeting held at a CRPF facility in adjoining Assam's Cachar on August 1.

In the meeting moderated by the Jiribam district administration, Assam Rifles and CRPF personnel, and representatives of Hmar, Meitei, Thadou, Paite and Mizo communities of Jiribam district were also present.

The agreement was, however, denounced by several Hmar tribal bodies based outside Jiribam district saying they did not have any knowledge about it.

More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.

Ethnically-diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by ethnic violence in Imphal Valley and adjoining hills, erupted in violence after a 59-year-old man belonging to one community was killed allegedly by militants of another community in June this year. Thousands had to leave their homes and relocate to relief camps due to incidents of arson by both sides. A CRPF jawan was also killed in an ambush by militants during patrolling by security forces in mid-July.