Farmers Movement Archive

'Farmers not traitors, Red Fort violence planned by Centre': Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday accused the Centre of orchestrating the violence on Republic Day at Red Fort as he once again extended his support to the farmers agitating in the national capital against the three farm laws. "The Centre is behind the Red Fort violence, not the farmers. It misguided the farmers who did not know Delhi roads," Kejriwal said while addressing a 'Kisan Mahapanchayat' in Meerut.The AAP chief added that he is aware of what happened on the day the farmers took out a tractor parade, saying he is the chief minister of the Union territory. "The farmers of our country are unhappy. It has been more than 90 days that they have been protesting near Delhi along with their families. More than 250 farmers have died in these three months but the Centre has done nothing about it," Kejriwal said.Click here for full coverage of farmers' protestAmid slogans of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan (Long Live Farmers, Long Live Soldiers)' and ‘Kala Kanoon Vapas Lo (Repeal The Black Laws)’, the AAP leader said that the protesting farmers faced atrocities which were not meted out even during the British rule. "And now, false cases are being slapped on protesters. Our farmers can be anything but not traitors. However, they have faced sedition charges. One son of the country is defending the country's borders, the other is at the border of Delhi," he said.The ' Kisan Mahapanchayat' or the farmers’ meeting comes months after the AAP's announcement that it would contest the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh in 2022. The address was initially supposed to begin at 11am but was delayed. Earlier in the day, AAP’s Rajya Sabha lawmaker Sanjay Singh posted a video on Twitter in which he is seen talking about the "three black laws", and said Kejriwal will join the cause of the farmers who are protesting against these laws.The AAP chief has been vocal in his support to the farmers. On Sunday, he said that these "black laws are like a death warrant for farmers". The party also plans to organise a 'Kisan Mahasammelan' in Punjab's Moga district on March 21.Thousands of farmers have been protesting at the borders of the national capital since November 26 last year. The three contentious farm laws are - Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Hindustan Times

28-02-2021

India