LEAD

Farmers protesting against the three agri-marketing legislations have received a formal permission from the Delhi Police for the planned tractor rally on the occasion of Republic Day on January 26 in the national capital, Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav said on Sunday. 

Addressing media after holding a meeting with the Delhi Police in this regard, Yadav asserted that the rally, dubbed 'Kisan Gantantra Parade', will be held in a peaceful manner in the city.

"Today, there was a short meeting with the Delhi Police. We have got formal permission from Police for the tractor rally. As I said earlier, the 'Kisan Gantantra Parade' will be held on January 26 in a peaceful manner," Yadav said, as quoted in a report by a news agency.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police Commissioner SN Srivastava issued a statement saying that all officers and men, along with CAPF and other force deployed for the Republic Day Parade security, should remain in a ready position to move at a short notice for law and order arrangements put in place for the farmers' rally. 

New Delhi: Several batches of farmers from Punjab and Haryana set out in their tractor-trolleys and other vehicles to take part in the proposed tractor parade on January 26 in the national capital. Carrying some ration, mattresses and other essentials, cavalcades of tractors left for Delhi to press the Centre to accept their demands.

Meanwhile farmer leaders on Saturday claimed that they have received permission to enter Delhi for their tractor rally that is slated to be staged on Republic Day. Delhi Police has given permission for the tractor parade on January 26, claimed farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar after protesting unions met the police, said a news agency report.

The route will, however, be finalised on Sunday, sources said. The tractor parades will start from the Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri border points of Delhi, but details will be finalised later, said Kohar after attending a meeting between the unions and the police. Another farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni said as thousands of farmers will participate in the parade, there will be no single route. Farmer leader Darshan Pal said barricades set up at Delhi border points will be removed on January 26 and farmers will take out tractor rallies after entering the national capital.

Trashing politics over coronavirus vaccines and trying to allay fears, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the call on launching them was taken by scientists.

In a televised interaction with health workers in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, Modi referred indirectly to criticism over the emergency-use clearance given to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.

The prime minister said all sorts of things are said in politics but he went by the scientists' decision. Politicians talk about this and that (Idhar ki bhi baat hoti hai, udhar ki bhi').

I gave only one reply that I will do what the scientists say, this is not the job of us politicians to decide, he added.