Amarinder Singh accused Arvind Kejriwal of double standards (Archive)
Chandigarh:
The exchange of attacks and retorts between Punjab’s chief minister Amarinder Singh and Aam Aadmi party chief Arvind Kejriwal on the three controversial farm laws continued on Friday. The congressional leader has stepped up his tirade against the Chief Minister of Delhi, calling it a “great fraud”. In a statement, it also called the opposition parties, AAP and Shiromani Akali Dal, hypocritical, and claimed that they initially supported the laws, but after witnessing public anger, they changed their stance.
“The AAP and SAD MLAs never say what they mean, and vice versa,” Singh said in the statement.
Referring to the public tearing by Mr. Kejriwal of a copy of the laws against which farmers have been protesting on the Delhi border, Mr. Singh alleged that the AAP government had notified one of the laws in the capital national. He accused the leader of “engaging in petty politics on the matter.”
“This shows that Kejriwal and AAP have a different face for people, with totally opposite intentions hidden within,” he said.
Earlier this week, Singh had called the AAP leader a “coward” and said he would sell his soul if he served his purpose.
“All Punjabis know that I am not one to be intimidated by a number of false cases … they also know that you will sell your soul if it serves your purpose. The whole world has seen how you sold the interests of farmers by notifying them of the black laws. Why did you do that? ”Mr. Singh had asked.
“What pressure did the center have on you? Or is it so you can humble yourself before them again the next time your pathetic government is reeling to handle the Covid crisis?” added.
Arvind Kejriwal responded by stating that the agricultural laws were the “gift to the nation” from his Punjab counterpart.
“You were part of the committee that wrote these bills. These bills are YOUR ‘gift’ to the nation. Captain sahibWhy do BJP leaders never accuse you of a double standard the way they accuse all other leaders? “the Delhi Chief Minister tweeted.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab and Haryana have been protesting on Delhi’s borders against the three laws, which they fear will take away their minimum price guarantee and leave them at the mercy of wealthy corporate houses. The center says that by allowing farmers to sell their produce outside of designated farmers markets, the laws will eliminate the role of middlemen who often take most of the profits.
The center has assured farmers in writing that existing farmers markets and the price guarantee will not be eliminated. The farmers, however, insist on repealing the laws.
Several rounds of talks between the center and farmers have failed to end the stalemate.
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