Punjab CM blames BJP for the farmers’ wrath, repeal new farm laws

Reiterating the call for repeal of the new farm laws, the Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh blamed the BJP for the farmers’ wrath. He also lashed out at the Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his deputy Dushyant Chautala for failing to heed the farmers’ concerns.

The farmers’s agitation in Haryana, against the BJP meeting in Karnal, on Monday took a nasty turn when the police did a lathi charge. Khattar said the Haryana police used force only after the farmers disturbed that state’s law and order. However, Singh cited a viral video of the SDM giving explicit instructions to the police personnel to bash up the farmers. “How did the SDM know that the farmers intended to resort to stone pelting etc. as claimed by Khattar?” the Punjab CM asked. “Can’t you see that the farmers of your own state are angry with you for your apathetic attitude towards them and your party’s stubborn refusal to repeal the farm laws? The farmers were fighting for their survival and did not need provocation from Punjab or any other state to protect themselves and their families.

Singh said the sentiment of India was with the farmers in the matter of the draconian and blatantly undemocratic farm laws imposed by the BJP-led central government in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The BJP’s adamant refusal to revoke the legislations reflected the vested interests of the party and its leadership.”

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The Punjab CM reiterated the call for repealing the farm laws and warned that the ruling party would have to pay for their sins in the upcoming Assembly elections in various states, and in every poll thereafter. “The Khattar government’s repeated attempts to forcibly end the farmers’ agitation, and the derogatory and obnoxious terms used against farmers by various BJP leaders, will only backfire on their party.”

Furthermore, Singh said the Punjab government stood firmly with the farmers in their anti-farm laws stance. He added that they were even giving compensation and jobs to the families of those who have died at the Delhi borders during protests.