oppn parties Farm Talks Are Unlikely To Be Cordial Today

News Snippets

  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
Farm Talks Are Unlikely To Be Cordial Today

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-01-20 05:35:28

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

The Centre is going to meet the representatives of the farmer's unions for the 10th round of talks to resolve the dispute over the new farm laws today. Hopes were raised in the last round of talks as both sides had agreed to negotiate directly (and not through the Supreme Court appointed committee) to resolve the issue and some union representatives had expressed the hope that a resolution would emerge soon.

But since then, the Centre has hardened its stand and has now said that the farmers will have to come up with "alternatives" as it is not going to repeal the laws. It has also indicated that keeping the repeal of the laws at the top of the agenda is not conducive to holding fair negotiations. The unions are agitated that the NIA is issuing summons to union leaders, transporters who are helping in the logistics of the protest movement and others. They feel that the Centre is trying to break the backbone of the movement through such moves. Another prickly point is going to be the tractor rally the farmer's are going to take out on Republic Day. With the Supreme Court having put the onus on the Delhi Police on the question of allowing or disallowing the rally, the unions are likely to press the Centre to allow the same. Hence, today's talks are not likely to be held cordially.

In the meantime, the Supreme Court has not budged from its stand and has refused to change the committee members (all of whom were not acceptable to the unions) even after one of them, Bhupinder Singh Mann of BKU, decided to opt out of the committee. In fact, CJI S A Bobde has defended the right of the court to appoint members without consulting anybody. This has further angered the unions and they are likely to stick to their original decision of not appearing before the committee. The committee has, in the meanwhile, started a portal where individual farmers can upload their responses to the three farm laws.

One feels that too many things are happening all at once and the situation is getting out of hand. As the farmers are not inclined to give up their demand of repealing the laws, the government has to find a way around it. It can draft a new set of bills after a final discussion with the unions, get their approval and issue an ordinance to make them law while simultaneously withdrawing the earlier ones. That would be the best resolution given that things are not moving in the right direction for such a long time.