Farmers Movement Archive

AAP govt will continue to back farmers: Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Addressing a special session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the farmers’ protest against the three agri laws was fought just like India’s freedom struggle and their victory was a victory of democracy. Kejriwal said the farmers would decide how long they wanted to continue their protest and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government would keep supporting them. Delhi assembly on Friday passed a resolution tabled by AAP MLA and cabinet minister Gopal Rai demanding that the three farm laws be repealed, compensation for families of the farmers who died during the protests, withdrawal of “false” cases against them and a legal guarantee of minimum support price for crops. “Exactly one year ago, the protest started after the Centre passed the three laws. They did not bother to ask or consult the farmers even once about this decision. This ended up wreaking havoc across the country because of their arrogance. Because they have a majority in Lok Sabha and lead Rajya Sabha, they have been blinded by this sense of arrogance that they can get away with tyranny,” said Kejriwal. Congratulating the farmers, Kejriwal said the movement saw participation of people from across the society directly or indirectly. “The farmers fought through tough summers, rains and even Covid-19 and dengue. It’s because of such determination that their demands were met. In my understanding, this is possibly the longest active movement in the history of humanity. The protests were also the most peaceful and patient that I have ever come across,” he added. “Those in power left no opportunity to slander and hurl abuses at the annadaatas. They tried to wreck their spirit. What happened in Lakhimpur is absolutely ghastly and brutal. They are so shameless that they would not have arrested the culprits had the Supreme Court not intervened,” said the CM. Mentioning that the farmers were also called anti-national, Kejriwal asked, “Are the farmers of this country who put in their blood, sweat and tears to feed us anti-nationals? What do we make of those who were trying to crush the movement by putting tags like anti-national, terrorists, Khalistani, Chinese and Pakistani agents on them?” Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said the farmers had set an example for the next generation on how they could get their point across by peaceful agitation. “The central government allocated a budget of Rs 100 crore to end the farmers’ movement. Tributes were paid in Rajya Sabha for a plane crash in Jakarta, but not for the 700 farmers who died fighting for their rights,” he claimed.

The Times of India

2021-11-27

Delhi