The Evening Wrap: Farmer unions blame violence on ‘conspiracy’

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the latest updates and the big news stories to follow today [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Wednesday 27, January 2021 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap Here are the biggest news stories of the day [alt_text]( Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Farmer unions blame violence on ‘conspiracy’; cancel Budget Day march to Parliament Farmers’ unions have blamed Tuesday’s violence on [a conspiracy hatched with the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) and “anti-social elements such as Deep Sidhu”](. They claimed that the incidents on Republic Day had “exposed the anti-farmer forces” and vowed to continue a peaceful protest. After an emergency meeting under the chairmanship of veteran Punjab leader Balbir Singh Rajewal, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha said they had “discussed the violent incidents in New Delhi and concluded that the Union Govt. has been severely shaken by this peasant agitation. Therefore, a dirty conspiracy was hatched with Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee and others against the peaceful struggle of other farmer organisations.” After the Republic Day parade plans were made, “anti-social elements like Deep Sidhu and others”, including the KMSC, attempted to torpedo the farmers’ agitation, the SKM said. The farm unions condemned the violence, the government, the KSMC, and the anti-social elements who tried to damage the struggle. “The organisations resolved not to allow the government and other forces inimical to the peaceful movement to break this struggle. Yesterday’s events exposed and isolated the anti-farmer forces clearly,” said the SKM statement. The SKM claimed that the KMSC was “not part of the organisations which jointly undertook the struggle”, noting that the Punjab union had set up its own separate protest site with a separate stage at the Singhu border within 15 days of the start of the agitation. Although the KMSC is part of the negotiations with the Centre along with the other unions, SKM leaders emphasised that this was only because the government had invited the rogue Punjab union. Meanwhile, union leaders announced that they have cancelled the scheduled march to Parliament on Budget Day, February 1. Instead, they now plan to hold ‘jan sabhas’ across the country on January 30, Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary. Delhi Police detain 200, name key farmer leaders in FIRs The Delhi Police have [detained 200 people]( in connection with the violence during the farmers’ tractor rally on Republic Day, officials said on Wednesday. Police said they are likely to detain and question more people in connection with Tuesday’s violence in the national capital. Tens of thousands of farmers broke barriers on Tuesday to storm the national capital and highlight their demands. The Delhi Police has also registered 22 FIRs so far in connection with the violence that left over 300 policemen injured. More than 35 farmer leaders have been named in the FIRs, including Rakesh Tikait, Darshan Pal Singh, Rajinder Singh, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Buta Singh Burjgil, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, and Yogendra Yadav. Interestingly, Deep Sidhu, the man widely believed to be behind the incitement that led to the violence at Red Fort on Tuesday, has not been named in any FIR. Sidhu was an election agent for Sunny Deol, a BJP MP. He has been photographed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, and has been a campaigner for the BJP. Three TV journalists booked in U.P. for showing students ‘shivering in cold’ during govt function Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur Dehat district have [booked three television journalists]( on charges of airing a “baseless” news report of children of a government school “shivering in cold” in knickers and cotton shirts during a drill at a public function on January 24. The event was part of a government function held at the Eco Park in Kanpur Dehat on the occasion of U.P. Foundation Day. Minister for Technology Ajit Singh Pal, MLAs and officials were present. The FIR was lodged at the Akbarpur police station on a complaint of Sunil Dutt, district basic education officer. Dutt accused the three journalists of publishing “baseless and misleading” reports and videos that suggested that pupils were made to “shiver in cold” while performing drills and yoga. [Children perform at a Uttar Pradesh Foundation Day function attended by State Minister Ajit Singh Pal at Kanpur Dehat district on January 24, 2021. Three journalists have been booked by the district police for airing news report “showing children of a government school shivering in cold” during the event. Photo: Facebook/@ajitpalofficial]Children perform at a Uttar Pradesh Foundation Day function attended by State Minister Ajit Singh Pal at Kanpur Dehat district on January 24, 2021. Three journalists have been booked by the district police for airing news report “showing children of a government school shivering in cold” during the event. Photo: Facebook/@ajitpalofficial The three, working for a local TV channel, have been identified as Mohit Kashyap, Amit Singh and Yaseen Ali. The three were not even present at the event, officials said. Visuals of the event shows pupils performing drills apparently in summer uniform and holding toy guns. The FIR accused the journalists of suggesting that the officials were busy while the children shivered in cold. In the complainant, Dutt said the pupils were made to take off their winter-wear only while performing yoga and exercise, and that subsequently they wore their warm clothes. Yoga and physical exercise could not be carried out in winter clothes and required loose clothing, he pointed out. Supreme Court stays Bombay High Court POCSO order The Supreme Court has [stayed a controversial Bombay High Court verdict](, which [acquitted a man found guilty of assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO)]( on the grounds that he groped his victim over her clothes and there was no ‘skin-to-skin’ contact between them. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde on Wednesday took cognisance instantaneously after Attorney General K.K. Venugopal made a special mention in court, saying the High Court decision would set a “very dangerous precedent” and cripple the intention of POCSO to punish sexual offenders. On January 19, a single judge of the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur Bench created a furore after he acquitted a man under POCSO Act and held that an act against a minor would amount to groping or sexual assault only if there was “skin-to-skin” contact. The High Court had concluded that mere touching or pressing of a clothed body of a child did not amount to sexual assault. Venugopal said that in the future, because of the order, an accused could claim innocence under POCSO by arguing that the child he assaulted was clothed and there was no “direct physical skin-to-skin contact” between them. The Bench issued notice to the accused and to the State of Maharashtra after registering a case on the basis of Venugopal’s mentioning. No protection from arrest for makers of ‘Tandav’ The Supreme Court today declined to pass an order [to protect the makers and artists of Amazon Prime’s ‘Tandav’ web series]( from arrest even as it agreed to examine their plea to club the FIRs registered against them in various States on the charge of hurting Hindu religious sentiments. A three-judge Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan asked them to approach the concerned lower courts for interim relief, including bail. The court also rejected their plea to quash the FIRs. The court did not appear convinced when the makers and artists explained that the web series was a “political satire” and urged the court to protect their freedom of artistic speech and expression. Justice M.R. Shah, on the Bench, said free speech is not absolute and is subject to reasonable restrictions. [ Saif Ali Khan in ‘Tandav’ ] Saif Ali Khan in ‘Tandav’ One of the actors, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, described to the court that he had enacted a character whose dialogues in the series had no connection whatsoever to his own individual beliefs. “I was contracted to play a character. What I said or did in the series has nothing to do with me as an individual,” his lawyer argued for him. “You cannot play the role of a character which hurts the religious sentiments of others,” Justice Shah responded. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The [number of reported coronavirus cases from India]( stood at 1,07,00,946 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,53,881. [ Covaxin vaccine. File ] Covaxin vaccine. File In a significant development, tests have found [Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin to be effective against the U.K. variant]( of the coronavirus as well, and to the same extent as with the strain used for making the vaccine. In Brief: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly was on Wednesday [hospitalised again with discomfort in the chest](, less than a month after he underwent angioplasty in Kolkata. The hospital said that his parameters were stable. The 48-year-old, who underwent angioplasty earlier this month after he was diagnosed with three blocked coronary arteries, felt “dizzy and slight discomfort in the chest” as he was rushed to a private hospital for further diagnosis, a family source told PTI. After completing a four-year sentence in a disproportionate assets case, expelled AIADMK leader [V.K. Sasikala was formally released]( from Central Jail, Parappana Agrahara in Bengaluru. Prison officials on Wednesday announced her release at Victoria Hospital, where she is being treated for Covid-19. While the prison escort has been withdrawn, over a hundred personnel from the Bengaluru City Police have been deployed in and around Victoria Hospital for security, turning the Covid-19 ward into a fortress. After his confirmation in the Senate, the [new U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken]( had an administrative swearing-in on Tuesday at the State Department, after which he spoke over phone with his counterparts from Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Mexico. Blinken is expected to oversee America’s re-engagement with the world via multilateral forums. He will also seek to strengthen multilateral relationships and move away from a transactional “America First” emphasis that characterised the Trump administration’s foreign policy. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today's Top Picks [alt_text]( [Apple Watch may measure blood sugar level, report says]( [alt_text]( [Google adds PIN, fingerprint sign-in in latest Chrome OS update]( [alt_text]( [Washington Sundar: ‘Too many expectations only add to the pressure. 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