Tribune news service
Chandigarh, December 3
With peasant leaders steadfast in repealing central farm laws, Punjab Congress leaders are wary of the BJP’s strategy of involving Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh in its meetings with peasants to end the stalemate. The outcome of the meetings, which could go either way, could also backfire for the party.
Captain-Shah meeting murky, says AAP
- The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) called the meeting between Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Union Interior Minister Amit Shah ahead of the second round of Union government meetings with farmers as “murky. “.
- The state youth wing chairman and Barnala MLA Meet Hayer said no one knew what happened between Shah and Captain Amarinder prior to the Union Government’s scheduled meeting with farmers’ representatives.
“Given that the Chief Minister has been regularly interacting with Punjab farmer leaders and succeeded in getting the rail blockades lifted, the BJP leaders feel that their involvement could prove productive in ending the stalemate. But intervention can go either way. “said a senior official. Said the leader of the Punjab Pradesh Congressional Committee (PPCC).
After meeting with Union Interior Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Thursday, Captain Amarinder sought an early resolution of the deadlock and urged the Center to reconsider its position on the laws. He also appealed to farmers to find an early solution to the problem that was negatively affecting the state’s economy and posing a serious danger to national security.
The Chief Minister stated categorically that he and his government were not involved in the mediation in any way and that the matter should be resolved between the Center and the farmers. However, sources said that since the Chief Minister was the first to speak out against the central laws and even passed three amendments to the laws, he had influence over the peasant leaders protesting on the borders of Delhi. The sources did not rule out the possibility that the Center insisted on the participation of the Chief Minister in the talks with the farmers.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the youth wing of the Aam Aadmi party, Meet Hayer, said the prime minister should tell the people of Punjab whether or not he exerted pressure on the interior minister, Amit Shah, to repeal the central agriculture laws. The youth leader said that the Chief Minister telling the Interior Minister to resolve farmers’ problems and concerns expeditiously does not make sense at this time.
