Amarinder cautions BJP-led govt. in Haryana against pushing farmers to the brink

‘The tyrannical use of brute force against peacefully protesting farmers is totally undemocratic and unconstitutional,’ says the Punjab Chief Minister

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday said Haryana’s forcible attempts to stop farmers from marching to Delhi in protest against the Centre’s agriculture laws was condemnable and cautioned the BJP-led government against pushing farmers to the brink.

Urging the Haryana government to allow the agitated farmers to pass through the national highway to take their voice to Delhi peacefully, Captain Amarinder questioned the need to stop them from proceeding.

 

“Why is M.L. Khattar govt. in Haryana stopping the farmers from moving to Delhi? The tyrannical use of brute force against peacefully protesting farmers is totally undemocratic and unconstitutional,” he said.

Terming it a “sad irony” that on Constitution Day, the constitutional right of farmers to protest was being suppressed, the Chief Minister flayed the use of brute force by the Haryana police, which had used water cannons and tear gas in a bid to stop the Punjab farmers from marching through the State and had not allowed farmers from Haryana to move out of their villages in many places.

What was the need for violence, Capt. Amarinder asked, pointing out that the farmers had been protesting for the past two months in Punjab without any problem, even though the State had suffered crores of rupees in losses. There had been no violence or law and order problem in Punjab, he observed, terming the Haryana government’s actions as provocative. “For nearly two months farmers have been protesting peacefully in Punjab without any problem. Why is Haryana govt. provoking them by resorting to force? Don’t the farmers have the right to pass peacefully through a public highway?” he quipped.

The Chief Minister urged the BJP Central leadership to direct their State governments not to indulge in such strong-arm tactics against the farmers.

On Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s condemnation of the use of force against farmers in Haryana, Capt. Amarinder raised doubts over the Aam Aadmi Party leader’s sincerity towards the farmers’ cause, asking why the Delhi government had failed to bring its own laws in its Assembly to counter the dangers of the Central farm laws. “Kejriwal is just playing to the gallery, the fact is that he neither cares for the farmers nor is interested in protecting them,” said the Punjab Chief Minister.

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