Farmers Movement Archive

Hope visuals of distressed farmers mellow Centre: Capt

Chandigarh Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday expressed hope that the pain of the agitating farmers, who are braving the pandemic to oppose agriculture laws, will reach the Central government and the latter will show some regard to the farming community. In a statement issued here, the chief minister said the BJP-led Union government, with its “ill-conceived and unconstitutional” farm laws, had pushed the farmers to the brink, forcing them to come out on the roads and endanger their lives. “Maybe the distressing visuals of tens of hundreds of farmers out on the road in Punjab, and in several other states, will touch the hearts of the central leadership,” he said. Reiterating his commitment to fight the draconian laws till his last breath, Amarinder also urged the President of India not to give his assent to the Bills, which, he said, were crafted to destroy not just the economy of Punjab and the food security of the nation but also the lives of lakhs of farmers and their families. “The Bills, if implemented, will have devastating effects for the border state of Punjab, as well as for the entire nation,” he warned, accusing the Centre with ignoring the farmers’ concerns to promote the interests of their capitalist cronies. The CM said his government, along with the Punjab Congress, will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the farmers to oppose the laws, and will take whatever steps needed, including moving the courts, to scuttle the Centre’s dangerous attempt to demolish the state’s well-established farming network. Amarinder also lashed out at the Akalis for their public posturing on the laws, which even the farmers had dismissed as crocodile tears. Reacting to the attack by Sukhbir Badal and Harsimrat Badal on him (Captain Amarinder), the CM dubbed it a “blatant tactic to divert attention from their own failure to protect the farmers’ interests and their decision to stay on in the government, after actively supporting and defending the farm ordinances”.

Hindustan Times

25-09-2020

City