Farmers Movement Archive

Punjab and Haryana CMs spar over farm agitation

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal on Monday exchanged sharp words on the farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s farm laws and the recent baton charge in Haryana’s Karnal. At a press conference here, Mr. Lal accused Capt. Amarinder (retd) of instigating farmers. To a question on Capt. Amarinder’s statement asking him to apologise to farmers, Mr. Lal said, “In what authority he is asking me to resign or apologise? Who is he to ask me to apologise or resign? Rather, he should resign for instigating farmers. About 85% of those sitting on Delhi’s borders are from Punjab.” Mr. Lal said those agitating and taking law and order in their hands were not farmers. They were politically motivated people. “The Haryana farmers are happily working in their fields. Those from Punjab are actually sitting at Tikri and Singhu borders,” he said, adding that the Congress and the Communist party leaders were misleading innocent farmers and provoking them to create chaos in Karnal as well. The Punjab Chief Minister slammed his Haryana counterpart for defending the assault on peacefully protesting farmers by putting the onus of their agitation on Punjab, saying Mr. Lal’s remarks had completely exposed his government’s anti-farmer agenda. “The farmers who were protesting against the BJP meeting in Karnal when the police rained ‘lathis’ on them belonged to Haryana and not Punjab,” said Capt. Singh. Blaming the BJP squarely for the farmers’ wrath, Captain Amarinder said the crisis would not have assumed such grave proportions had the BJP, including the Haryana Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, heeded the farmers’ concerns and empathised with their pain.

The Hindu

2021-08-31

CHANDIGARH