Farmers Movement Archive

Amarinder tried to derail agitation at every step: Mann

Bathinda: Attacking the Congress, BJP and SAD on the issue of three agriculture laws, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab president Bhagwant Mann alleged these parties had betrayed the farmers of Punjab by playing tricks. Speaking to mediapersons at Bathinda on Sunday, the Sangrur MP claimed these three parties had jeopardised the lives of the farmers as they had taken every step to ruin them. Mann said in 2013, these parties were instrumental in passing of the Contract Farming Act and in 2017, when Captain Amarinder Singh came to power, he did not repeal this Act. “Moreover, he passed the APMC Amendment Act, 2017, which privatised the fruit and vegetable market, whose effects are still being seen. Kinnow is being sold below the production cost in Abohar,” he claimed. Mann said these two laws that were passed by these parties had become the basis of the recent central laws. He said now that the farmers were protesting against it, these parties were involved in theatrics and trying to show the people that they are pro-farmer. “Every step that these parties have taken points to the fact that they have always been trying to derail the farmer protest,” added Mann. The AAP leader said the Akali Dal and BJP were claiming for months that the farm laws were beneficial to the farmers. The Congress, on the other hand, did not protest these laws when it was proposed in the high-powered committee, although Captain Amarinder Singh was part of it, he claimed. “Moreover, Captain Amarinder neither met Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor did he mention the farm laws to Union home minister Amit Shah, when he went to meet him. In fact, he asked the farmers to accept the proposal given by the central government, which itself exposes his intentions and propaganda,” alleged Mann. The MP said AAP was organising a Kisan Maha Sammelan on March 21, to give voice to the agitating farmers at Baghapurana.

The Times of India

2021-03-08

Chandigarh