FARMERS HANG ON AMIDST INCREASED TENSION AT PROTEST SITES

The Delhi Police have arrested 44 people at Singhu border between Delhi and

Haryana, the epicentre of the two-month long farmers' protest against three

central laws.

At Ghazipur, one of the other protest sites, thousands of demonstrators dug

in on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, defying the Ghaziabad administration's

ultimatum to vacate the area. With the crowd swelling after a standoff and a

tearful outburst farmer leader Rakesh Tikait on Thursday, security forces in

large numbers were called in again.

At Singhu. the police had to fire tear gas shells and use batons to break up

a clash between farmers and a large group of men claiming to be local

residents who threw stones at each other. Several people including a Delhi

Police officer were injured in the violence.

Thousands of farmers reached protest sites on Friday as union leaders

accused the government of trying to destroy their peaceful agitation and

sought the support of people in observing a fast on January 30, from 9 am to

5 pm.

Probing the Republic Day violence, the Delhi Police has asked nine farmer

leaders - Rakesh Tikait, Pawan Kumar, Raj Kishore Singh, Tajender Singh

Virk, Jitender Singh, Trilochan Singh, Gurmukh Singh, Harpreet Singh and

Jagtar Singh Bajwa - to join the investigation.

At Ghazipur border, around 3,000 security personnel, including those from

the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), the Rapid Action Force (RAF) in

anti-riot gears and civil police, were posted.

The size of the crowd, which increased manifold overnight after an emotional

Rakesh Tikait said he was ready to die for the protest, was estimated around

five to six thousand by districts officials while BKU office-bearers present

there claimed it to be upwards of 10,000 on Friday evening.

BKU president Naresh Tikat, who had earlier called off the agitation at

Ghazipur, asked supporters to go and support the protests at the Delhi-UP

border.

Apparently the optics of Rakesh Tikait, a jat/kisan leader, becoming

sentimental and breaking down was enough to stir emotions among his

community who "collectively felt humiliated".

FARM LAWS PROVIDE NEW AVENUES WITHOUT ALTERING PAST STRUCTURES: PRESIDENT

President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday allayed the fears of farmers on the

three farm laws, saying the new agriculture legislations provided new

avenues without altering any past structures and marked the culmination of

decades-old discussions on the need for reforms.

Addressing the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament and heralding the

start of the Budget Session from today, the President also lamented the

Republic Day violence in the capital during the farmers' tractor parade and

said the Constitution mandated people to respect the law as much as it

guaranteed them a right to free expression.

"The recent acts of dishonouring the National Flag and showing disrespect to

the auspicious occasion of the Republic Day are very unfortunate. While the

Constitution gives us the right to freedom of expression, it is also expects

us to abide by the laws and rules with equal sincerity," the President said

amid boycott of his speech by 19 opposition parties - including the Akali

Dal, the AAP, the Congress, the BSP and the UPA partners.

He said that the benefits of the three important farm reforms had started

reaching more than 10 crore small farmers instantly.

Reaching out to farmers, still agitating on Delhi borders for the repeal of

the laws, the President said the Apex Court had stayed the implementation of

the laws and the government would abide by the Supreme Court orders.

The President also lauded the government for COVID-19 management, saying it

was a matter of pride that India was running the world's largest COVID 19

vaccination drive.

Speaking ahead of the start of the Budget session, the Prime Minister said,

"The coming decade is vital for India's progress. We have to remember the

vision and dreams of the greats who fought for our nation's freedom. Let

there be detailed debate and discussions on the floor of Parliament."

The PM said, "I hope the MPs will see this decade in the light of its

significance for India's growth and development. The Budget session is the

first session of a new decade. I hope the MPs will, keeping in mind the

responsibility the constituents have given them and keeping democratic

traditions in mind, use Parliament for debates and discussions."

FARMERS' AGITATION WILL SPREAD UNLESS RESOLVED SOON: RAHUL

Having boycotted President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the joint sitting of

Parliament, the Opposition on Friday demanded discussions on the farmers'

agitation over three contentious farm laws and other issues in Lok Sabha,

with senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asserting that the government

cannot suppress the farmers and the agitation will spread unless it is

resolved soon.

Referring to violent incidents at the Singhu border on Friday, Gandhi

accused the government of "attacking" and "beating" the farmers and said it

was "absolutely wrong". "What is being done to the farmers is absolutely

criminal. You are beating them, you are threatening them, bullying them,

using the NIA and you are trying to discredit them. The government needs to

talk to the farmers. It needs to give a solution to the farmers. And the

only solution is repealing these laws and putting these laws into the waste

paper basket," he told reporters at an AICC press conference.

"Government must not think that the farmers are going to go home. They are

not going to go home. And my concern is that this situation is going to

spread. We do not need this situation to spread. We need a conversation with

the farmers and we need a solution," he said.

Asked about the storming of the Red Fort, Gandhi said, "Is it not the job of

the Home Ministry to stop them from entering the Red Fort? Who is

responsible for that? Why were they allowed to go in? Who allowed them? Ask

the Home Minister. Also ask him what the idea behind allowing people to

enter is."

In a retort to Gandhi's remarks, BJP MP Smriti Irani said in a presser:

"Instead of calling for peace, he called for anarchic elements to spread

fire in country." She claimed that the Congress MP "not only wants law-order

breakdown but also supports anarchic elements daring to insult tricolour,

break nation". "Rahul Gandhi declared war on Indian people; said cities will

burn if PM does not support his stand," she alleged.

DON'T CONNECT DISPUTED BORDER WITH BILATERAL TIES, SAYS CHINA

While appreciating Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar's suggestions for

improving ties, China said that issues related to the disputed border should

not be linked with overall bilateral relations.

"We have noted minister Jaishankar's remarks," China's foreign ministry

spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a media briefing in Beijing while responding

to a question on the online address by Jaishankar to the 13th All India

Conference of China Studies. Zhao said Jaishankar had stressed the

importance of India-China relations and that it showed that the Indian side

attached importance to the ties with China. "We appreciate this," Zhao said.

"Meanwhile, we stress that the boundary issue shall not be linked with

overall bilateral relations. That is an important experience we have

gathered through years' effort to keep ties moving forward," the spokesman

added. "We hope Indian will work to manage the differences, promote

practical cooperation and bring bilateral relations back on track," Zhao

said.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

US SEEKS CUSTODY OF OMAR SHEIKH FOR PEARL MURDER TRIAL

The Biden administration has said it is ready to take custody of

British-Pakistani terrorist Omar Saeed Sheikh to stand trial in the US, even

as the Pakistan hurriedly concocted a review petition against its Supreme

Court's acquittal of the man accused of participating in the execution of

Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl. Washington's shock and anger

at Pakistan was expressed in restrained statements from the White House, the

state department, the justice department, and Congress, urging Islamabad to

review its legal options to ensure justice is served.

"The US stands ready to take custody of Sheikh to stand trial here on the

pending charges against him. He must not be permitted to evade justice for

his charged role in Daniel Pearl's abduction and murder," the US justice

department, under whose jurisdiction the FBI falls, said.

EU OKS ASTRA VAX, MOVES TO RESTRICT EXPORT OF ITS DOSES

The European Union on Friday announced plans to effectively halt any attempt

by AstraZeneca to move vaccine doses manufactured in the bloc to other

countries unless it first meets its supply obligations to the bloc's 27

members states. The move came as the EU's drug regulator authorized

AstraZeneca's vaccine for people over the age of 18. It's the third vaccine

to be cleared for use in the EU. AstraZeneca said this month that it would

significantly cut its promised delivery supply of the jab to the EU as of

mid-February. That pitted the bloc against Britain which has been receiving

a steady flow of the doses. The policy announced by the European Commission

on Friday, presented as a "transparency tool", will ask all firms

manufacturing vaccines within the bloc - currently Pfizer and AstraZeneca -

to submit paperwork alerting EU of any intention to move their products to

non-EU countries.

THE REST

========

ECONOMIC SURVEY PEGS GDP GROWTH AT 11 PER CENT IN FY22

India's economy is likely to grow by 11 per cent in the fiscal year

beginning April 1 as a vaccine drive and rebound in consumer demand help it

emerge from the carnage inflicted by a strict coronavirus lockdown, the

Economic Survey said on Friday.

The rebound will follow an estimated 7.7 per cent contraction in the Gross

Domestic Product (GDP) in the current financial year ending March 31, the

document-an annual report card on the economy-tabled in Parliament by

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

This is the steepest annual contraction of the economy in the history of

independent India. The economy had last witnessed its last annual

contraction of 5.2 per cent in the fiscal year 1979-80.

The estimated contraction in the current 2020-21 fiscal (April 2020 to March

2021) compares with a revised growth rate of 4 per cent in the previous

year.

The "V-shaped recovery is supported by COVID vaccination drive," the survey

said.

Chief Economic Adviser KV Subramanian, who led the team which authored the

pre-budget document, said India's strict lockdown prevented 37 lakh cases

and one lakh deaths. "The country took short term pain for long term gain.

While GDP growth will recover, and it has, lost human lives cannot be

brought back," he said at a post-presentation press conference.

The forecast for next year is in line with the IMF's estimate of 11.5 per

cent expansion, which will once again make India the fastest-growing major

economy in the world ahead of China's 8.1 per cent pace.

The survey sees headline inflation moderating going forward and said there

is a need for more sustained and calibrated measures to facilitate the

process of economic recovery in the new fiscal year.

LOW-INTENSITY EXPLOSION NEAR ISRAEL EMBASSY IN DELHI, NO INJURIES REPORTED

A minor IED blast took place near the Israeli Embassy in the heart of

Lutyens' Delhi on Friday evening, police said. No one was injured.

Some cars were damaged in the blast in the very high-security zone. Delhi

Police Additional PRO Anil Mittal said initial impressions suggest that it

could be a mischievous attempt to create a sensation.

The blast took place when President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M

Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were present a few

kilometres away at the Beating Retreat ceremony at the culmination of the

Republic Day celebrations.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his Israeli counterpart Gabi

Ashkenazi and assured him of "fullest protection" to diplomats and the

mission.

AKAL TAKHT JATHEDAR STEPS IN WITH ADVICE, CLARIFICATIONS

The jathedar (head) of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal body of the

Sikhs, Giani Harpreet Singh advised the leaders of the farmers agitation to

continue to talk with the government and if needed "take a few steps

backward, giving up obstinacy".

The Akal Takht is the highest seat of authority of the Khalsa (the

collective body of the Sikhs) and its jathedar's statement is considered to

have immense religious weight.

"Several unfortunate events happened on Republic Day in Delhi where farmers

have been agitating against the three central farm laws. Violence in any

form, whether it was the police beating up farmers or the farmers raising

their hands on the police, is unfortunate and condemnable. However, if such

untoward incidents happen during an agitation, ultimately the responsibility

lies with the leaders of the agitation, who are expected to keep the

protesters in discipline," he said.

"However, a lot of baseless hullabaloo has been generated over the hoisting

of the Khalsa flag on an empty flag post at the Red Fort. Every year, when

the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee organises the Fateh Diwas, the

Khalsa flag adorns the Red Fort."

Singh added: "Two Khalsa flags adorned the tableau from Punjab in the

Republic Day parade that day, which was themed on the life of Guru Teg

Bahadur (the ninth Guru of the Sikhs).The Sikh regiment posted in the Galwan

Valley raises both the Indian tricolour and the Khalsa flag."

Singh said to call it a "symbol of Khalistan is wrong".

J&J COMES OUT WITH A SINGLE DOSE COVID-19 VACCINE

Johnson & Johnson said on Friday that its single-dose vaccine was 66%

effective in preventing COVID-19 in a large trial against multiple variants

across three continents.

In the trial of nearly 44,000 volunteers, the level of protection against

moderate and severe COVID-19 varied from 72% in the United States, to 66% in

Latin America and just 57% in South Africa, from where a worrying variant

has spread.

A high bar has been set by two authorised vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and

Moderna, which were around 95% effective in preventing symptomatic illness

in pivotal trials when given in two doses. Those trials, however, were

conducted mainly in the United States and before new variants emerged.

J&J's main goal was the prevention of moderate to severe COVID-19, and the

vaccine was 85% effective in stopping severe disease and preventing

hospitalisation across all geographies and against multiple variants 28 days

after immunization.

That "will potentially protect hundreds of millions of people from serious

and fatal outcomes of COVID-19," the company said, adding that it will soon

seek emergency use authorization.

UAPA RIGHTLY INVOKED AGAINST PINJRA TOD ACTIVISTS IN RIOTS CASE: DELHI COURT

A Delhi court has rejected bail petitions of Pinjra Tod activists Devangana

Kalita and Natasha Narwal. The court said the police's claim that the duo

were part of a larger conspiracy hatched during the February riots was prima

facie true.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat wrote two separate orders, but

verbatim, on the petitions filed by Kalita and Narwal. He upheld the

invocation of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)

against them.

The judge said that the entire conspiracy of intentionally blocking roads to

cause inconvenience and disrupt supply of essential services would fall

under the definition of the anti-terror law, UAPA.

'TAKING OFFENCE HAS BEEN ELEVATED TO A MUCH-LOVED NATIONAL INDOOR SPORT'

Following are some excerpts from comedian Kunal Kamra's Affidavit In the

Supreme Court:

"I believe there need be no defence for jokes. Jokes are based on a

comedian's perception, which they use to make the audience that shares that

perception laugh. These jokes are not reality, and don't claim to be so."

"My tweets were not published with the intention of diminishing the faith of

the people in the highest court of our democracy. It is funny though, how

little faith the Petitioner appears to have in the people of this country.

The suggestion that my tweets could shake the foundations of the most

powerful court in the world is an over-estimation of my abilities."

"Judges of our constitutional courts are amongst the most powerful people in

our country. They have extraordinary powers over the fundamental rights and

lives of citizens of this country, and their office and tenure are

constitutionally protected to shield them from political interference.

However, I believe that constitutional offices - including judicial offices

- know no protection from jokes. I do not believe that any high authority,

including judges, would find themselves unable to discharge their duties

only on account of being the subject of satire or comedy."

"Comedy does not permit an artist the luxury of articulating the basis of

jokes through long, nuanced essays or measured prose. Brevity may not be a

familiar concept for the legal community, but it continues to be the soul of

comedy."

"I believe that there is a growing culture of intolerance in this country

where taking offense is seen as a fundamental right and has been elevated to

the status of a much loved national indoor sport. We are witnessing an

assault on the freedom of speech and expression with comedians like Munawar

Farooqi being jailed for jokes that they have not even made, and school

students being interrogated for sedition. At such a time, I hope that this

Court will demonstrate that the freedom of speech and expression is a

cardinal constitutional value, and recognise that the possibility of being

offended is a necessary incident to the exercise of this right."

" Lastly, I may disagree with many decisions by many courts in many matters,

but I promise this Bench that I will respect any decision that comes my way

with a broad smile. I will not vilify this Bench or the Supreme Court in

this matter specifically because that would actually be contempt of court."

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Be not afraid of going slowly; be afraid only of standing still. - Chinese

Proverb

OFF TRACK

Judge : Tum ne 10 saal se apni wife ko dabaa ke , daraa ke , dhamka ke ,

apne control me rakha hai.

Mulzim : Judge sahab aisa hai ki ....

Judge : Safaai nai; Tarika bata, tarika!!!!