Farmers Movement Archive

BJP has found new allies in Amarinder, Dhindsa to promote divisive discourse: Punjab CM

Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi alleged on Sunday that the Bharatiya Janata Party has found its new allies in his predecessor Amarinder Singh and Akali breakaway faction leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa for promoting its “divisive discourse” in the state.Channi’s statement came a day after Union home minister Amit Shah said the BJP was in talks with Amarinder Singh and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, who is the president of the SAD (Sanyukt), for an alliance for the Punjab assembly polls that are due early next year.“Punjab is one state that rebutted the anti-people and divisive agenda of the BJP and the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019... The BJP used Shiromani Akali Dal in its anti-farmer agenda to implement the three black laws that the secular farmers agitation has forced Modi to repeal,” Channi said in a statement.The CM said that the SAD had aggressively supported these legislations, and now Amarinder Singh would function as the “full-time tool” of the BJP to implement its “nefarious anti-people designs”.“The interests of Punjab were mortgaged to the BJP by the Akali Dal first under the leadership of Parkash Singh Badal, who had paved the way for this alliance by extending unconditional support to Atal Bihari Vajpayee to form BJP-led government in 1996 that lasted only 13 days. Badal had betrayed Punjab and the Punjabis by extending unconditional support. That was a sell out by Badal of Punjab,” Channi further alleged. The SAD led by Sukhbir Singh Badal last year broke ties with the BJP over the farm laws issue.“Now Amarinder Singh is all set to perform that malicious role which he had been all along playing as the chief minister by coming to the rescue of the Modi government on crucial issues and in promoting anti-people agenda,” Channi alleged.After his unceremonious exit as chief minister in September, Amarinder Singh quit the Congress and formed his party Punjab Lok Congress for fighting the upcoming assembly polls.

Hindustan Times

06-12-2021

Chandigarh