Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers’ movement not over: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday demanded action against “individuals and the party” behind the Republic Day violence in Delhi during the agitating farmers’ tractor rally. But the “unfortunate” violence doesn’t mean that the movement that represents the farmers’ issues has ended, said Kejriwal, who spoke about the incident for the first time while addressing AAP’s ninth national council meeting. Addressing the 9th National Council meeting of Aam Aadmi Party | LIVE https://t.co/gqiEMbq2PE— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) 1611812482000Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia claimed that the violence was carried out under a design to defame the agitation and no action was being taken against actual culprits. He demanded repeal of the three central farm laws against which the farmers had been agitating. Addressing the 9th National Council meeting of Aam Aadmi Party | LIVE https://t.co/mWaNepX8Vu— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) 1611829195000Kejriwal, AAP’s national convener, said, “The people and the parties who are the real culprits should be given the strictest punishment. But violence does not mean that farmers’ issues are over. The movement of the farmers, due to which they are sitting on the borders for the last 60 days, is not over.” Urging everyone, including party volunteers, to “support the farmers in our states”, he stressed, “Our support should be non-violent. Whenever you do that, leave your party caps and flags at home. The support should be non-political, and you should support them as a common man.” The national council, which met for the first time since AAP’s victory in the 2020 Delhi assembly elections, extensively discussed the three farm laws and decided to boycott the President’s address to Parliament on Friday before the Budget session as a mark of support to the protesting farmers. “All party MPs in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha will boycott” the President’s address, AAP later said in a statement. “The farmers of our country are in distress. They have only been deceived by all parties in the last 70 years. They were promised loan waiver that did not happen and jobs to their children that did not happen. Over 3.5 lakh farmers have committed suicide in the last 25 years,” Kejriwal said. “Now, these three farm laws will snatch their livelihood and give farming to the corporates. For the farmers, it is a question of existence... If they do not sit in the biting cold, they would not be able to retain their livelihood.” The AAP convener alleged that BJP and Congress had destroyed the nation in the past 70 years and that was the reason why people loved AAP. He claimed that what Congress and BJP could not do for so long, AAP had done in the past five years. By bringing an ordinance in a “surreptitious manner” during the Covid pandemic, BJP is trying to benefit a handful of industrialists, AAP alleged. Delhi government has provided various essential facilities to the protesting farmers at the borders, including free Wi-Fi.

The Times of India

2021-01-28

Delhi