Farmers Movement Archive

‘If govt upsets farmers from border states, there will be ramifications’: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar urged the Union government to deal with the ongoing farmers protest with sensitivity."My advice to the Union government is, do not let farmers of Punjab get upset, it is a border state. If we upset the farmers and people from border regions, then there will be other ramifications," Pawar cautioned.Also Read: ‘Will meet Amit Shah to know his thoughts’, says NCP's Sharad Pawar on extension of BSF’s jurisdictionPawar also said that the stand taken by the Union government does not seem "rational", and referring to Indira Gandhi’s assassination, he warned that the country had to pay a hefty price for upsetting Punjab once."Our country has paid the price of upsetting Punjab, even (then prime minister) Indira Gandhi lost her life. On the other hand, farmers of Punjab, irrespective of whether they are Sikh or Hindu, have contributed to the food supply," he told reporters on Saturday.Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her personal bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh on October 31, 1984, at her residence in New Delhi, allegedly in retaliation for Operation Blue Star. Her death was followed by large scale anti-Sikh riots across the country, in which thousands of Sikhs lost their lives.The NCP chief stated that the border areas like Punjab face several security issues and therefore "when a person who is making sacrifices is sitting in protest with some demands for a long time, paying attention to him is what the nation requires".The Union government and protesting farmer unions have held several rounds of talks but the government has not accepted their demand of a total repeal of all three farm laws. The government has insisted that the new laws will help farmers enhance their incomes but farmers claim they are exploitative.

Hindustan Times

16-10-2021

India