Farmers Protest: Government Temporarily Blocks 177 Social Media Accounts and Web Links

The government has issued orders to temporarily block approximately 177 social media accounts and web links associated with the farmers' protest. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology implemented these orders on February 14 and 19, following a request from the Ministry of Home Affairs under section 69A of the IT Act, according to sources.

The orders have been issued to temporarily block 177 social media accounts and web links to uphold law and order, as per the Ministry of Home Affairs' request, according to a source. Links and accounts across various platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and others have been directed to be blocked. The source also mentioned that these accounts may be reinstated once the farmers' agitation concludes.

In a setback, farm union leaders on Monday rejected the Centre's proposal of buying pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP by government agencies for five years, saying it was not in farmers' interest. The announcement was made by farmer leaders Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal after holding a meeting.

A panel of three Union ministers -- Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai -- on Sunday gave a proposal to the farmers during the fourth round of talks in Chandigarh.