BJP, not Punjab, to blame for farmers' unrest: Capt on Khattar barb

Chandigarh, August 30

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today slammed his Haryana counterpart for defending the assault on peacefully protesting farmers by putting the onus of their agitation on Punjab, saying Manohar Lal Khattar’s remarks had exposed his government’s “anti-farmer” agenda. He said the BJP, not Punjab, was responsible for the unrest.

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The CM reminded Khattar and his deputy Dushyant Chautala that the farmers, protesting against a BJP meeting in Karnal, who were canecharged by the police belonged to Haryana, not Punjab. He was reacting to their allegations that Punjab was behind the farmers’ agitation.

Blaming the BJP for the crisis, the CM said it wouldn’t have assumed such “grave proportions” had the saffron party, including the Haryana CM, heeded the farmers’ concerns and empathised with them, instead of raining batons on them. He trashed Khattar’s claim that the Haryana Police used force only after farmers disturbed the law and order, pointing out the viral video of the SDM giving explicit instructions to the cops to “bash up” the protesters “nailed the CM’s lies”.

The BJP’s refusal to revoke the legislations reflected vested interests of the party and its leadership, which had once again placed their “crony capitalist” friends over the common man, he said. Responding to Khattar’s remark on farmer leaders giving him (Capt Amarinder) “ladoos” after the resolution of the sugarcane farmers’ protest, the CM said: “You repeal the farm laws and not just the farmers, even I will share ‘ladoos’ with you.”

The CM said his government stood firmly with the farmers on their stance against the farm laws and was even giving compensation and jobs to families of those who had died at the Delhi border. “A government or a political party that allows such tragic and totally avoidable loss of lives to continue under its watch cannot survive,” he added, sending out a warning to the BJP to pay heed to the “annadatas” before it was too late. — TNS

AAP protest today

Chandigarh: The state unit of AAP will hold district-level protests against the central and Haryana governments on Tuesday. The party demands dismissal of the SDM and cops involved in the incident. Party’s kisan wing state chief Kultar Sandhwan said: “Modi and Khattar are responsible for the police brutality.” TNS