Farmers Movement Archive

Javadekar trying to shift Red Fort blame on Congress: Amarinder

Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday hit out at Union minister Prakash Javadekar over his “disgraceful and desperate” attempt to shift the blame for the Red Fort violence on the Congress. In a statement, Amarinder alleged that the Red Fort violence was evidently instigated by supporters and members of the BJP in collusion with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress was nowhere in the picture. “Workers and supporters of BJP and AAP, and not the Congress, have been caught on camera waving the Nishan Sahib at Red Fort,” he claimed in response to Javadekar’s unfounded allegations against the Congress, and his own government in Punjab. Not a single Congress leader or member was seen at Red Fort indulging in any kind of lawlessness, Amarinder said, adding that even farmers were not responsible for the January 26 trouble, which was, in fact, the doing of anti-social elements who infiltrated the tractor rally. Conduct fair probe, don’t harass farmers: CM “The Centre should also get a free and fair probe conducted into the possible role of any political party, or even a third country as is being alleged by BJP leaders, to ensure that the guilty are punished and the genuine farmers are not unnecessarily maligned or harassed,” he said. Lashing out at the Union Minister for accusing Rahul Gandhi of inciting the violence, Amarinder said, “Did the Congress leader ask anyone to climb Red Fort? He did not. It was BJP and AAP men who did that”. Rahul had promptly condemned the violence and clarified that violence was no solution to the crisis, he said. “These allegations are nothing but a cover-up attempt by the BJP leader for his own party’s role in the violence, and for their utter failure to manage the situation, which they had created in the first place with the unilateral implementation of the black farm laws,” he said. On the Union Minister’s statement that the Punjab government failed to stop farmers from joining the tractor rally, the CM said: “How could I stop peaceful farmers from going to their own national capital to exercise their democratic right of protest?” He said permission for the tractor march was given by Delhi Police and there was no reason for Punjab to prevent farmers from joining the rally.

Hindustan Times

28-01-2021

Chandigarh