CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asserted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab had colluded with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led central government to backstab farmers and their cause and demanded that in case chief minister Bhagwant Mann was really serious about mitigating the sufferings of farmers he should approve minimum support price (MSP) on all 22 crops as promised.
Asserting the AAP government had failed both the Kisan and the Jawan, the SAD also demanded a thorough probe and severe punishment to the police Inspectors who had brutally assaulted Col Pushpinder Singh Baht and the latter’s son Angad in Patiala on March 13. It decried that the army officer’s wife was running from pillar to post but was not getting justice with the Patiala Police registering an open ended FIR in the case without naming the police officers. It also condemned the chief minister for failing to meet the affected family or deputing any minister to listen to their grievances, adding unwarranted tensions had been created between the State police and the Army authorities by mishandling the entire incident.
Addressing a press conference here, senior SAD leaders Dr Daljit Singh Cheema and Arshdeep Singh Kler said “the dirty game of the AAP and BJP to hoodwink farmers and blame the latter for the sufferings of Punjabis due to closure of roads has been exposed by the manner in which they acted in collusion with each other yesterday”.
The leaders said the AAP government in Punjab worked in collusion with the centre to invite Kisan leaders for talks and then arrested them post talks besides clearing up the ‘dharna’ sites at Shambhu and Khanauri. “Never has any government arrested representatives it has invited for talks. This is against all democratic principles”.
Dr Daljit Cheema also disclosed that all this was done to ensure the smooth entry of former AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal to the Rajya Sabha. “Ironically it is only now that Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann realized that trade and industry was being affected by the closure of roads at Shambu and Khanauri. The truth is that Kejriwal is desperate to enter the Rajya Sabha and for that he needs to ensure the victory of party MP Sanjeev Arora who is contesting the by-election from Ludhiana”. He said a wedge was being driven between farmers and traders to get Kejriwal elected from Ludhiana West.
The SAD leader condemned the manner in which farmers were being blamed for blocking roads with appeals being issued by the government not to close any roads. “The truth is that the blockades which were removed today had been put up by the Haryana government. If the Punjab government had got them removed earlier trade and industry would not have suffered. But instead of admitting its fault, farmers who only wanted to proceed to parliament to voice their grievances in a peaceful and democratic manner are being defamed”.
Dr Cheema said the central government had also held meetings sporadically with farmers with the intention of forcing them to continue their dharna even as a campaign was initiated to blame them for road closures. He also asserted that if the chief minister truly sympathized with farmers he should approve MSP on all 22 crops as promised in the cabinet meeting being held late today evening.