From The Newsroom: President accepts Harsimrat's resignation; Punjab CM Amarinder Singh slams farm legislations

In your evening news brief, From The Newsroom, President accepts Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal’s resignation; Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh slams farm legislations; PM Modi defends them.

Here are the top news of today, Friday: September 18, 2020:

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked officials to formulate a strategy and bring an ordinance if required to prevent religious conversions in the name of love, an official said on Friday. The aim is to ensure that such crimes are checked and effective action is taken against the culprits. All this is being taken into consideration an official added. In Kanpur, the police had recently set up a Special Investigation Team to look into reports of "love jihad".

Last year, the Uttar Pradesh State Law Commission had submitted a report to Adityanath, suggesting a new law to check forcible religious conversions.

President Ram Nath Kovind today accepted the resignation of Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who had resigned in protest against three farm sector bills.

The Shiromani Akali Dal leader resigned yesterday. As advised by the prime minister, the president has directed that Cabinet Minister Narendra Singh Tomar be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, in addition to his existing portfolios. Badal said that she had resigned from the Union Cabinet in protest against anti-farmer ordinances and legislation and was proud to stand with farmers as their daughter and sister.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh slammed the farm legislations, saying they are “being forced" on the nation by the BJP-led Centre as part of its 'Kisan maaru, Punjab maaru' (Destroy Farmers, Destroy Punjab) “conspiracy”. He warned that the legislations would lead to growing angst among the people in the border state, thus giving Pakistan the opportunity to foment trouble. Singh said the “anti-farmer” move will spoil the environment of Punjab.

Amidst growing criticism against the farm sector reform bills, Prime minister Narendra Modi stoutly defended them, asserting that they will act as a "protection shield" for farmers and accused those opposing the measures of standing with middlemen and "deceiving" and "lying" to peasants.

With opposition parties dubbing three bills, passed by Lok Sabha and now to be tabled in Rajya Sabha, as "anti-farmers" and the BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal quitting his government to protest them, Modi refuted their criticism, saying these laws will unshackle farmers by allowing them to sell their produce anywhere by negotiating a better price.

The central government is considering reducing Air India's debt further and delaying its disinvestment process in order to woo buyers, senior officials said on Friday. The debt of Air India as on March 31, 2019 was Rs 58, 255 crore. Later in 2019, Rs 29,464 crore of this debt was transferred from Air India to a government-owned special purpose vehicle called Air India Assets Holding Company Limited (AIAHL).

About 2,800 kgs of cannabis has been seized and 17 persons arrested as part of separate operations being conducted against the trafficking of the drugs in the country, the NCB said on Friday. The operations were conducted over the last one week and seizures of the narcotics (cannabis) was made in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, it said.

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