Farmers block roads during 'Bharat bandh', protest against agri bills
Farmers shouted slogans and blocked roads in several parts of the country Friday, protesting against the three agri-marketing bills passed recently by Parliament.
The most widespread protests were in Punjab and Haryana, but demonstrations were also reported from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala and Karnataka as part of the Bharat bandh call given by several farmer unions.
Over 30 organisations had given a separate Punjab bandh call, leading to farmers blocking roads and traders shutting shops and vegetable markets for the day. The bandh in the state appeared to be near total.
Hundreds of farmers -- on foot, two-wheelers and tractor-trolleys -- were stopped at Delhi's border with Uttar Pradesh as they tried to press ahead into the national capital, their agitation disrupting traffic in Noida and Ghaziabad.
Stopped from entering the city, the farmers staged 'panchayats' at the road blockades where they were addressed by Bhartiya Kisan Union office-bearers.
Addressing BJP leaders and workers on the birth anniversary of party's ideologue Deendayal Upadhyay, Prime Minister Narendra Modi again made a pitch for the new laws meant to deregulate the sale of farm produce.
But farmer unions and opposition parties say they will lead to the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system.
In West Bengal, farmer bodies loyal to the Left parties staged protests.
CPI(M) farmers' wing 'Sara Bharat Krishak Sabha' and those of other left partners such as CPI, Forward Bloc and RSP took out rallies in Hooghly, Murshidabad, North 24 Parganas, Bankura and Nadia.
In Karnataka, there were demonstrations across the state and many farmers arrived in capital Bengaluru to take part in protests against amendments to the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act and the Karnataka Land Reforms Act.
Farmers under the umbrella of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) staged protests in Kerala, including outside the Raj Bhavan in capital Thiruvananthapuram.
In Punjab's Barnala, a tractor was set on fire by protesters.
Punjab farmers blocked the Sangrur-Patiala, Chandigarh-Bathinda and Ambala-Rajpura-Ludhiana and Moga-Ferozepur roads, triggering traffic diversions and hardship to commuters.
Buses run by the state-owned Pepsu Road Transport also went off the roads in Punjab.
Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal drove a tractor while his wife and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal sat beside him in Muktsar district.
He led a tractor march from his Badal village to Lambi, where the party had organised a protest against the bills. At several other places, party workers blocked roads.
Prominent Punjabi singers like Harbhajan Mann and Ranjit Bawa took part in a farmers' protest in Nabha.
A three-day rail roko that began Thursday is also underway in Punjab, with farmers squatting on the tracks at many places in Punjab and the railways suspending many trains.
The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee on Friday announced its extension by another three days. Buses run by state owned Pepsu Road Transport Corporation also remained off the roads on Friday.
In neighbouring Haryana, farmers blocked the Karnal-Meerut, Rohtak-Jhajjar and Delhi-Hisar and other roads.
Apart from Noida and Ghaziabad which border New Delhi, there were scattered farmer protests in western Uttar Pradesh and in districts like Deoria, Kushinagar and Maharajganj districts.
The Samajwadi Party said its workers held protests in all UP districts, submitting memorandums addressed to the Governor to the district magistrates.
The Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, now await presidential assent.
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Pope Leo XIV rejects claims that God justifies war in Palm Sunday Mass message
Leaders on all sides of the Iran war have used religion to justify their actions; US officials, especially Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, have invoked their Christian faith to cast the war as a Christian nation trying to vanquish its foes with military might Pope Leo XIV on Sunday rejected claims that God justifies war and prayed especially for Christians in the Middle East during a Palm Sunday Mass before tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.
With the US-Israeli war on Iran entering its second month and Russia's ongoing campaign in Ukraine, Leo dedicated his Palm Sunday homily to insisting that God is the "king of peace" who rejects violence and comforts those who are oppressed.
"Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war," Leo said. "He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them."
Leaders on all sides of the Iran war have used religion to justify their actions. US officials, especially Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, have invoked their Christian faith to cast the war as a Christian nation trying to vanquish its foes with military might.
Russia's Orthodox Church, too, has justified Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a "holy war" against a Western world it considers has fallen into evil.
Palm Sunday marks Jesus' triumphant entrance into Jerusalem in the time leading up to his crucifixion, which Christians observe on Good Friday, and resurrection on Easter Sunday.
In a special blessing at the end of Mass, Leo said he was praying especially for Christians in the Middle East who are "suffering the consequences of an atrocious conflict. In many cases, they cannot live the rites of these holy days."
Earlier Sunday, the Latin Patriarchate said Jerusalem police prevented the Catholic church's top leadership from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was the first time in centuries that church leaders were prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday at the place where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, the Patriarchate said.
Leo said that during Holy Week, Christians cannot forget how many people around the world are suffering as Christ did. "Their trials appeal to the conscience of all. Let us raise our prayers to the Prince of Peace so that he may support people wounded by war and open concrete paths of reconciliation and peace," Leo said.
A Holy Week that recalls Pope Francis' suffering
When Holy Week opened last year, Pope Francis was still recovering at the Vatican after a five-week hospital stay for double pneumonia. He had delegated the liturgical celebrations to others, but rallied on Easter Sunday to greet the faithful from the loggia of St. Peter's Square. Most poignantly, he then made what became his final popemobile loop around the piazza.
Francis died the following morning, Easter Monday, after suffering a stroke. His nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, later told Vatican Media that Francis had told him: "Thank you for bringing me back to the square" for the final salute.
Leo is due to preside over this week's liturgical appointments and is returning to tradition with the Holy Thursday foot-washing ceremony that commemorates Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples.
During his 12-year pontificate, Francis famously celebrated the Holy Thursday ritual by travelling to Rome-area prisons and refugee centres to wash the feet of people on society's margins. His aim was to drive home the ritual's message of service and humility, and he would frequently muse during his Holy Thursday homilies, "Why them and not me?"
Francis' gesture had been praised as a tangible evidence of his belief that the church must go to the peripheries to find those most in need of God's love and mercy. But some critics bristled at the annual outings, especially since Francis would also wash the feet of Muslims and people of other faiths.
Leo restores Holy Week foot-washing tradition
Leo, history's first US-born pope, is returning the Holy Thursday foot-washing tradition to the basilica of St. John Lateran, where popes performed it for decades. The Vatican hasn't yet said who will participate, though Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II normally washed the feet of 12 priests.
On Friday, Leo is due to preside over the Good Friday procession at Rome's Colosseum commemorating Christ's Passion and crucifixion. Saturday brings the late-night Easter Vigil, during which Leo will baptise new Catholics, followed a few hours later by Easter Sunday, when Christians commemorate the resurrection of Jesus.
Leo will celebrate Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square and then deliver his Easter blessing from the loggia of the basilica.
