Farmer leaders have political aspirations, say Punjab BJP leaders

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 7

With the stalemate continuing between farmer unions and the Union government, two Punjab BJP leaders mediating for talks have launched fresh attack against the farm leaders. 

BJP leaders Surjit Kumar Jyani and Harjeet Grewal after meeting with Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday said that many of the leaders leading the agitation have political aspirations and they want to contest elections after returning to Punjab.

Both the leaders are scheduled to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the evening. Earlier, on Tuesday they had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well. 

Jyani said the current leaders do not want people to go back home peacefully and they are doing this out of political aspirations. They want repression on people, so that they could become bigger leaders with wider acceptability. 

“But their attitude will not lead anywhere.” 

Jyani said there are practical problems while dealing with the 32 leaders.

“Now it has become leaderless. Nobody is ready to listen. We agree that they represent 32 organisations, but now they should choose their leader,” he said.

However, Harjit Grewal went a step ahead and questioned the credentials of the leaders.

“Who is Joginder Singh Ugrahan, he belongs to a Marxist-Leninist group, a Naxalite faction called Nagi Reddy group in Punjab.”     

He also questioned Yogendra Yadav and CPM leader Hannan Mollah’s presence among the farmer unions.  

However, reacting to this, farmer unions have called it just another name calling.

“Earlier, they called as Khalistanis, then Maoists. Now they call us politically aspired move. Their new propaganda will also bite the dust like previous ones. It is part of our constitution that neither any of our leaders can contest the elections nor we support any political party,” said Jagmohan Singh, General Secretary, BKU (Dakaunda).

Another farmer leader Rajinder Singh, vice president of Kirti Kisan Union, challenged the BJP leaders to go back and hold a public meeting to level the same allegation in a Punjab meeting.

“The entire Punjab has stood up against BJP and its leaders.”