Chandigarh, September 15
Taking stern notice of the remarks of the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on the farmers’ struggle in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab has slammed the ruling Congress with questions. The AAP has also accused Capt Amarinder Singh of speaking the language of the BJP and making mischievous statements to divide the people of the state.
In a joint statement issued from the party headquarters here on Wednesday, AAP Youth Wing state president and MLA Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer and MLA Principal Budh Ram said, “The Chief Minister terming the farmers’ struggle on the soil of Punjab as a great detriment to the interests of Punjab and the people is a very unfortunate, irrelevant and irresponsible statement as the ‘annadatas’, are fighting for their and agriculture’s existence and not for their hobby; instead they are doing it out of compulsion. If the central government abandons its stubbornness and repeals the anti-agriculture black laws and ensures the marketing of crops and brings MSPs under the purview of law; the farmers will immediately get up from the streets and go back to work in their fields.”
Meet Hayer asked Captain and the Congress government, “What concrete steps did they take to put decisive pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi? Will Captain explain that being a Chief Minister why he did not oppose as a member in the meetings of the NITI Aayog on agricultural laws? Will the Punjab Chief Minister make it clear that as promised in the all-party meeting on agriculture laws (in which Sukhbir Singh Badal was vigorously advocating for agriculture laws on behalf of the Akali Dal Badal) why did Capt Amarinder Singh run away from meeting the Prime Minister along with the all-party delegation? Does Capt Amarinder Singh admit that the Prime Minister’s Office has sent a comment which is detrimental to the interests of Punjab and the people? Will the Chief Minister say that only farmers are protesting in Punjab?”
Principal Budh Ram said that apart from the ‘annadatas’, today there are laborers, unemployed teachers-linemen, employees, pensioners, maids, traders, doctors, nurses, veterinary doctors, staff, university professors and non-teaching staff, intellectuals, medal winners, and Paralympic athletes, handicapped, Sarpanch, Nambardar, Patwari, Driver-Conductor, Aganwadi, and Asha Workers, students, ex-servicemen, Homeguard Jawans, freedom fighter’s family including MGNREGA workers are protesting by sitting on the streets and in front of government offices; for their rights and legitimate demands.
He asked, “Should all these sit on the borders of Delhi instead of the land of Punjab when their issues are to be solved by the Punjab government? Isn’t the present Congress government responsible for the dharnas demanding punishment to the culprits of desecration of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and justice to the Sangat?”
The AAP leaders said that if Capt Amarinder Singh had been sympathetic to the interests of Punjab and the people, Punjab would not be a land of dharnas today. Similarly, Captain could have eradicated the power mafia, sand mafia, drug mafia, transport mafia, mandi mafia, land mafia, cable mafia, private education, and health mafia started by the Badals, four years ago; but as soon as Captain came to power, he took command of the Badal mafia. That is why Captain did not send the mafia rule out of Punjab, they asserted.
