NEWS

Social activist Anna Hazare on Friday put on hold the indefinite fast against the new farm laws and claimed that the Central government has agreed to some of his demands.

In a statement earlier in the day, 84-year-old Anna Hazare had announced that he will be starting the hunger strike from his village Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra on Saturday.

Hazare had said he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar five times on the plight of farmers but to no avail.

"The Union government has agreed to some of my demands and also announced setting up a committee to improve the lives of farmers. I have decided to suspend my proposed indefinite fast starting from Saturday," a news agency quoted Hazare as saying.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party is using its network of over 50 lakh WhatsApp groups to spread fake news about what happened during the tractor rally in Delhi on January 26.

Addressing various Hindi organisations in Kolkata on Thursday, Mamata Banerjee said that the party was trying to discredit the Punjab farmers by painting a couple of minor incidents during the protest as acts of terrorism.

"Look what is happening in Delhi during the farmers' movement. Some small incident took place, nothing big. The BJP, on the other hand, burns the whole country. It is okay when they do it, but if a small incident happened at farmers' protest they will brand them as terrorists?" Mamata Banerjee said.

National spokesperson of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Rakesh Tikait on Thursday refused to surrender before the police and said a Supreme Court-appointed committee should probe the violence that broke out on Republic Day in Delhi during the tractor march.

He also started fast at the protest site and said he would drink only water from his village.

His statement came even as the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government issued an ultimatum to the protesting farmers to vacate the Ghazipur border protest site.

"We want to court arrest peacefully. But it seems there is a plan to stir violence while protesters return. If there is any such plan, I will remain here. I will face the bullet," Rakesh Tikait said.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday opposed Elgar Parishad accused P Varavara Rao’s bail plea on medical grounds but said the Bombay high court may impose conditions on the state to ensure adequate medical care and facilities to him in Taloja prison.

The Additional solicitor general (ASG) said, “My argument is that instead of imposing conditions on him, impose conditions on the state. On how he must be kept in the prison ward, we will be bound by the conditions.”

A bench of Justice SS Shinde and Justice Manish Pitale said, “We must consider law and humanity and then we must strike a balance.’’

The HC is hearing Rao’s plea for bail on medical grounds and his wife’s petition for his liberty on grounds of violation of his fundamental rights, including right to life.