Amarinder Singh said that the accusations that Punjab farmers were “urban naxals” were “silly, petty” (archive)
Chandigarh:
Punjab Prime Minister Amarinder Singh responded to the BJP on Sunday, hours after the ruling party said that the farmers protesting the center’s agricultural laws were “urban naxals” and accused him of failing to maintain law and order. in the state.
Singh angrily called the comments “downright foolish and petty” and recommended that the BJP focus on law, order and policymaking in Delhi, where, he said, “misguided actions (and) bad policies” had led to farmers protests being “mismanaged”.
“The statement given by the top leaders of the BJP in today’s newspapers, calling for urban Naxal farmers, is downright silly and petty,” Amarinder Singh tweeted tonight.
The statement given by senior @ BJP4India The leadership in today’s newspapers calling urban farmers Naxals is downright foolish and petty. Do you think the anguish of the farm bill is limited to only Delhi? 1/2
– Captain Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) December 27, 2020
“Do you think the anguish of the farm law is confined only to Delhi? Any mishandling of this issue takes place in Delhi, be it by misdirected action or bad policy. So don’t blame the Punjab police or the government. for the consequences … “additional.
Any mishandling of this issue takes place in Delhi, be it through misdirected action or bad policy, so don’t blame @PunjabPoliceInd or @PunjabGovtIndia for the consequences to which it can lead. Our police are doing a commendable job. We have always defended peace and peaceful protests. 2/2
– Captain Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) December 27, 2020
Earlier today, BJP Secretary General Tarun Chugh claimed that the disruption of telecommunications services for the past 24 hours was proof that the Punjab congressional government had failed to maintain law and order.
“The Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, has failed to maintain law and order in the state … the urban naxal forces appear to be having a field day in Punjab,” Chugh said in his statement, while suggesting that Singh there was “collusion with Naxal forces to ensure the collapse of law and order.”
Nearly 1,400 telecommunications towers in Punjab, all belonging to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio, have been vandalized by angry farmers since Saturday. The sources told the PTI news agency that the attacks had affected services and operators were struggling in the absence of action by law enforcement agencies.
Although the companies owned by Mr. Ambani do not currently purchase agricultural products, many fear that the new laws will benefit large corporate groups at the expense of farmers, making telecommunications towers an easy target.
On Friday, Amarinder Singh had appealed to protesting farmers not to upset the public with their actions and to continue to exercise the restraint they had shown in recent weeks.
This morning, BJP’s Tarun Chugh said: “The situation is becoming similar to what is seen in the pockets of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, where public property is targeted by the Naxals.”
This is not the first time that the BJP has launched the narrative of the “ultra-left” or “separatists”, a tactic farmers say is being used to divide what has been, until now, a remarkably united front.
Earlier this month, government sources blamed “pro-left extremist elements,” not unlike the “urban naxal” label used on social media, for the sinister turn of the peasant movement. Last month, Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP’s IT cell, alleged a link between “Khalistan and Maoist.”
Farmers have dismissed the claims; Last week, the All India Coordination Committee Kisan Sangharsh wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stress that their protests were not linked to any political party, ideology or affiliation.
So far, five rounds of talks have been held to resolve the deadlock between the two sides. However, neither party is willing to compromise at this time. Farmers want the laws removed and the center is only open to amend more problematic sections.
Farmers have turned down an invitation to a sixth round, saying the center “does not take our demands seriously” and is more interested in propaganda that paints them in a negative light.
With input from PTI
.
