Farmers Movement Archive

Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi should resign for calling farmers hooligans, says Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday demanded the immediate resignation of Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi for dubbing the farmers protesting the Centre’s three farm laws as hooligans. At the same time, he also condemned the alleged attack on a journalist at the farmers’ protest site at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Accusing the BJP leader for using derogatory language for the farmers, who have been peacefully agitating for the past nearly eight months, Amarinder said it reflected the party’s anti-farmer mindset. “Given the ruling party’s brazen attempts to stifle all voices of dissent and protest, the fact that it failed to break the spirit of the farmers was clearly rankling,” he said. While the assault on the journalist covering the Kisan Sansad deplorable and action should be taken against the guilty person, the Union minister’s reaction was totally uncalled for and provocative, the CM said. Lekhi, he said, had no right to defame the farmers in such a manner. The Delhi Police should file a case and investigate to identify the accused, and the law should take its own course, he said. Pointing to the “disparaging comments” made by various BJP leaders against the farmers since their agitation started at the Delhi borders, he said the ruling party had been trying to malign the farmers and undermine their peaceful protests from the outset. He recalled that the saffron party leaders had earlier even tried to defame the farmers with slanderous descriptions like ‘terrorists’ and ‘urban Naxalites’. Having failed to deter the farmers, who had been braving the elements in this fight for their rights and some even losing their lives, the BJP leadership was once again resorting to such shameful tactics out of sheer frustration, he added. Amarinder said the simmering anger among the farmers, who are losing their lives and livelihoods due to the Centre’s “draconian actions”, was a matter of serious concern and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should immediately take steps to resolve the crisis, which could have serious repercussions for the country. Intelligence reports suggest that pro-Khalistani elements from across the border are looking to exploit the farmers’ resentment against India, he pointed out, warning of a grave security failure if these reports are not heeded by the Centre. Instead of indulging in such shameful acts in their desperate bid to make the farmers toe their line, the Union government should try to settle the issue at the earliest, he stressed.

The Times of India

2021-07-23

Chandigarh