Farmers just an excuse to come to power in Punjab, BJP leader Gautam Gambhir in Delhi’s Arvind Kejriwal.
New Delhi:
Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir of BJP attacked Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying his show of support for farmers on Monday was just a ruse to seize power in Punjab, where the Aam Party Aadmi (AAP) is the second largest after Congress. and the elections must take place in two years. Kejriwal’s visit to the Singhu border also earned him a reprimand from Punjab’s Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who said his counterpart’s claim of “sevadar (in the service of)” was a sham.
“Farmers are just an excuse to come to power in Punjab! Only Arvind Kejriwal can lock himself in his house and then shout” house arrest, “the MP tweeted in Hindi.
Gambhir’s comment came hours after AAP members said their boss had been placed under “house arrest” after Monday’s visit to the Singhu border, where he had gone to review the arrangements.
They added that the protests in front of Mr. Kejriwal’s residence were “deliberate” attempts to prevent him from joining the farmers for today’s Bharat Bandh.
Delhi police denied the claim amid accusations by Senior Deputy Minister Manish Sisodia that even AAP workers were not allowed to meet with Kejriwal and that the Center was targeting the Delhi government for refusing to convert nine stadiums in a farmer’s jail.
The AAP is the main opposition party in the Punjab assembly with 19 seats after the 80 in Congress. The BJP, which recently said it would contest all 117 seats on its own in 2022, has only two seats. His former ally Shiromani Akali Dal is 14.
Although both the AAP and Congress support the farmers’ demand to repeal the “black laws”, the government of Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi has come under intense attack by Amarinder Singh over reports that his government notified one of the three laws of the Center. .
“When other opposition-ruled states, including Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, have passed amendment bills to counteract the core laws, why didn’t you convene a session of the Delhi Assembly to reject the latter?” said the Chief Minister of Punjab.
Singh also criticized Kejriwal for not supporting farmers when the laws were passed in September, when the protest began to escalate.
Railroad tracks and roads were blocked in some parts of the country in response to farmers’ call for Bharat Bandh today. Mandis remained fully or partially closed in many states, haulers stayed off the highways, and bank unions supported them with peaceful after-work protests, which they attended with black gangs. The bandh was also supported by all the opposition parties.
Ahead of the sixth round of talks with the government tomorrow, Union Interior Minister Amit Shah has summoned farmers’ representatives for a meeting tonight.
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