In the Kisan Mahapanchayat held at Uchana in Haryana’s Jind district on Sunday, it was decided not to support or oppose any party in the elections, a farmer leader said.

A large number of farmers from Haryana, Punjab and other states attended the Mahapanchayat held under the aegis of the Bharatiya Kisan Naujawan Union. Farmer leaders like Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Shravan Singh Pandher, and Abhimanyu Kohad participated in it.

Providing information about the decision taken in the Mahapanchayat, Dallewal said, “We (farmers movement) have nothing to do with the elections. Our aim is to strengthen the movement. We will neither help anyone nor oppose anyone in the elections. To strengthen our movement, we will make people aware of the failures of the government and the decisions taken against the farmers.”

He said, ”The next Mahapanchayat will be held on September 22 in Pipli, Kurukshetra. The demands for which we are protesting are not only of Punjab, Haryana, but of the farmers of the whole country. Mahapanchayats are being held in every corner of the country to connect the whole country with this movement.”

Dallewal said the way farmers were stopped by the government from coming to the Kisan Mahapanchayat is ”very shameful, condemnable.” ‘ ‘In order to prevent farmers from gathering, cement barriers were put up at many places. Gurudwara managers were even told not to cook food for them,” he alleged.

Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohad said, “We do not appeal to vote for any political party, but we will definitely say that when you go to vote, remember the atrocities that have been committed against farmers and labourers in the last ten years.”

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday said the Congress will form the next government in Haryana and warned criminals to either give up crime or leave the state before October 8, the day poll results will be out.

Addressing an election meeting in Assoda village here, Hooda said the aim of the Congress government will be to make Haryana “developed and safe”.

“A Congress government is going to be formed in the state on October 8. Before that, either stop your criminal activities or leave Haryana,” Hooda said in a warning to the criminals of the state.

“The aim of the Congress government will be to make Haryana developed and safe,” he said and appealed to the people to vote for Congress candidate Rajendra Joon.

Hooda told the gathering that when the Congress returned to power in Haryana in 2005, it eradicated crime, and law and order was maintained for 10 years.

“Due to this, the state progressed, and Haryana became the number one state in the country in terms of development,” he said.

“The BJP made Haryana a haven for criminals in the last 10 years. Haryana became the number one state in the country in crime. Every day, ransom is demanded from businessmen… The criminals have become fearless.

“Every day, murders, rapes, and kidnappings take place. No one feels safe. But this state of fear which the people are living in will end when a Congress government is formed. The rule of law will be established again,” he said.

Hooda said after coming to power, Congress will fill 2 lakh vacant posts, restore the old pension scheme, and give Rs 6,000 per month as pension to the elderly, 300 units of free electricity and gas cylinders at Rs 500 to every household.

Joon said Bahadurgarh emerged as an industrial and footwear hub during the Hooda government as several factories were set up and thousands of people got employment.

Meanwhile, the people present at the rally wished Hooda on his 77th birthday on Sunday.

His supporters celebrated the occasion by organising blood donation camps, performing havans and cutting cakes at several places across the state, according to a statement issued by the party.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)

The BJP-led NDA government will implement ‘one nation, one election’ within its current tenure, sources said, exuding confidence that the reform measure would receive support across party lines.

As the third term of the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi completes 100 days in office, the sources said that the cohesion within the ruling alliance will continue for the rest of the tenure.

“Definitely, it will be implemented in this tenure itself. It will be a reality,” one source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In his Independence Day address last month, the prime minister made a strong pitch for ‘one nation, one election’, contending that frequent polls were creating hurdles in the country’s progress.

“The nation has to come forward for ‘one nation, one election’,” Modi had said in his address from the ramparts of the Red Fort.

The prime minister urged the political parties “from the Red Fort and with the national tricolour as a witness to ensure the nation’s progress”.

He also asked the parties to ensure that national resources are used for the common person and said, “We have to come forward to realise the dream of ‘one nation, one election’.” ‘One nation, one election’ is one of the key promises made by the BJP in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections.

A high-level panel headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind in March this year recommended simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step followed by synchronised local body polls within 100 days.

Separately, the Law Commission is likely to recommend holding simultaneous polls for all three tiers of government — Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies like municipalities and panchayats — starting with 2029 and a provision for unity government in cases like hung house or no-confidence motion.

The Kovind panel has not specified any period for rolling out simultaneous polls.

It has proposed creation of an ‘Implementation Group’ to look into the execution of the panel’s recommendations.

The panel recommended as many as 18 constitutional amendments, most of which will not need ratification by the state assemblies.

However, these would require certain Constitution amendment bills that would need to be passed by Parliament.