'#Aaj_Bharat_Bandh_Hai': Plough, tractor trends on Twitter as farmers protest in solidarity
New Delhi, Dec 8: Social media was abuzz on Tuesday with messages of solidarity with the agitating farmers on 'Bharat Bandh' day as netizens made ploughs, tractors, crops and 'Kisan' trends on Twitter in support of the protesters' demands.
A nationwide agitation was held on the call of 'December 8 Kisan Mahaandolan' as protesting farmers vociferously reiterated their demand of repealing the new farm laws, which they have termed as "kala kanoon".
As the agitation picked up in the morning, the hashtag #Aaj_Bharat_Bandh_Hai was trending till late afternoon.
Other hashtags widely used by the netizens were #TractorToTwitter, #IStandWithFarmers, #Kisan, #FarmersProtest and #NoFarmersNoFood.
Many users also shared videos of deserted markets in cities in Gujarat, Maharashtra and other states to show the impact of the stir.
"I stand with Farmers and strongly support .. Kisaan hai toh Desh hai. #AajBharatBandhHai," tweeted user @gschahal, and shared a photo from the main protest site at Delhi-Haryana border.
Images of ploughs locking a door drawn in the shape of India's map and tractors triumphing over odds were widely shared to convey the idea of bandh and farmers' struggle.
Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh, who recently had an ugly spat with actress Kangana Ranaut over the farmers' protest issue, shared posters of 'Bharat Bandh' and the trending hashtag #AajBharatBandhHai.
Many other Twitter users posted posters, pictures and videos to convey their solidarity with the farmers.
"Finally Thumbs upThumbs upThumbs up Worldwide trending on number 1 #AajBharatBandhHai," wrote @JowanjotKaur while sharing an image of a Punjabi 'kisan' holding a flag atop the hood of a tractor.
Bharat Kisan Union tweeted bilingually: "Keep supporting! Strengthen Farmer's Voice! Maximum Retweet! #8December #Bharat_Bandh #FarmersProtestDelhi2020 #FarmersDelhiProtest #FarmersDilliChalo #AajBharatBandhHai, #RepealBlackLaws #FarmersProtest2020."
Another user @JAafia tweeted: "I stand with Our Kissan Brothers I support #bharathbandh Raised fist Farm laws need to be revoked and Justice should be done to our Farmer Brothers Raised fist Agree = Retweet Down pointing backhand index #i_stand_with_farmers #FarmerProtest #NoFarmersNoFood #AajBharatBandhHai _Rahega #AajBharatBandhHai."
The user posted an image of a lock and chain over the map of India to represent the nationwide stir.
"Farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale. No Farmer No Food Ear of rice Ear of rice Ear of rice Ear of rice I stand with Our Farmer Brother," said @MukeskkumarsRES.
Another Twitter user @TiwanaAmann shared an image of Muslims and Sikhs praying at a protest site, side by side, and wrote: "It feels so proud to see how this movement has made people united all over the world . Nobody might have thought farmers would trend today."
User @VenkatBhandari3 used an image of a plough figuratively locking the 'door of India' and tweeted: "Farmers are backbone of country they give us food on plate but they get tear gas,water canons and sticks on them #ISTANDWITHFARMER #AajBharatBandhHai."
"Farmers play a vital role in the Earth's Foodsystem, without them human race's survival is difficult. #FarmBills is also a huge threat towards the global food security. Let us support #BharatBandh," wrote user @KTRTRS.
"I am a Panjabi, I am a farmer Tractor? ?I grew up in a village as a farmer, my whole village in Panjab is a farming community ! ? ? I will ALWAYS stand with my people Raised fistRaised fist? ? #IamAFarmer #SonOfPanjab #StandWithFarmers #Farmers #FarmerProtest #TractorToTwitter," tweeted @RaviSinghKA.
User @Sardarn57844700 shared a poster with a message: "The whole county stands with Annadata'."
Finally Thumbs upThumbs upThumbs up
— Jowanjot Kaur (@JowanjotKaur) December 8, 2020
Worldwide trending on number 1#आज_भारत_बंद_है @b_kumar07 @HansrajMeena@Kittupmaurya @kisanITCeel @PDhounsi@DiIjit_Dosanjh @diljitdosanjh@pawankumar4697 @DevprakashIRS @maryadaambedkar @Kush_voice @HansrajMeena pic.twitter.com/MtwH4h0r6T
#आज_भारत_बंद_है pic.twitter.com/zzXKwjJkWx
— DILJIT DOSANJH (@diljitdosanjh) December 8, 2020
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If Constitution amendment bill is passed, democracy will be finished in India: Priyanka
New Delhi (PTI): In a stinging attack, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said the government began finishing off democracy by putting pressure on institutions, such as the Election Commission (EC) and the judiciary, but now, an "open attack" has been launched on democracy with the Constitution amendment bill.
Participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha on three bills introduced for amendments in the women's-quota law and setting up a delimitation commission, Priyanka Gandhi asked why can't the government give 33 per cent reservation to women on the current 543 seats of the Lok Sabha.
She said the bill talks of increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats to up to 850 -- to be done by a delimitation commission on the basis of the 2011 Census data.
"This seems fine on the surface but the real meaning comes to the fore when one carefully reads it. It smells of politics," the Congress leader said.
She said on reading the fine print, it shows that the three members of the delimitation commission will decide the fate of the states and their representation in Parliament.
"The government began finishing off democracy by putting pressure on institutions, such as the Election Commission, the judiciary, the media etc., but now, an open attack on democracy is being launched," Priyanka Gandhi said.
If this Constitution amendment bill is passed in Parliament, democracy will be finished in India, she added.
The Congress MP also narrated a background to the issue of women's reservation in legislative bodies.
"This issue is close to the heart of every woman. There is a background to this issue. The prime minister said this issue was blocked for 30 years. This was started by a person called Nehru. Not the Nehru they avoid so much but Motilal Nehru, who as the president of a committee prepared a list of 19 rights which were then passed as a resolution at the Karachi session of the Congress and formed the basis of giving women equal rights in Indian politics," she said.
She said it was Rajiv Gandhi who, as the prime minister, brought a bill for women's reservation in panchayats and nagarpalikas and finally, the bill for it was passed during the P V Narasimha Rao government of the Congress.
"Under the UPA, this was passed in the Rajya Sabha but a consensus could not be reached in the Lok Sabha. In 2018, Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling for women's reservation," Priyanka Gandhi said.
Taking a swipe at Modi, she said it seems from the prime minister's address that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a champion of women's reservation.
"Any woman would tell you that women easily recognise those who try to mislead them," she said and urged the BJP to be careful.
"In 2023, when this law was passed, the Congress supported it and today also, the Congress is strongly in support of women's reservation. But the truth is that the debate is not on women's reservation. The bill that the government has brought has changed the direction of the debate," Priyanka Gandhi said and hit out at the BJP over the delimitation provisions in the bill.
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to tweak the women's-quota law was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday after a division of votes.
Two ordinary bills -- the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill to implement the proposed amended women's-quota law in the Union territories of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir -- were also introduced in the House.
