Updated: December 14, 2020 5:44:43 am
On December 11, Tomar asked protesting farmers to be vigilant about the misuse of his platform by what he called “anti-social elements” as well as “leftist and Maoist elements.”
With talks stalled and farmers announcing a hunger strike on Monday, more voices in the government came out on Sunday to allege that ideological forces opposed to the government and the “progress and integrity of the nation” were in the protests. At the same time, the negotiating door was kept open with the Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Kailash Choudhary, who told PTI that the government would soon “decide on a date” and call peasant leaders for the sixth round of conversations
In a speech to Bihar farmers, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad invoked the “tukde tukde gang”, warning of “severe action”. And, in the capital, the Union Minister of Agriculture, Narendra Singh Tomar, said that those who opposed the agricultural laws were the same cast of “leftist” characters who opposed the repeal of Article 370, the new law of citizenship (CAA) and the Ram temple.
BJP launched a statewide ‘Kisan Chaupal Sammelan (farmers conference)’ in support of the new laws, Prasad said: “They wanted us to promise MSP in writing, when we agreed, they started talking about repealing the laws .. Let me do it Clear that the Government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi respect the farmers and the farmers also respect the PM. Lekin agar kisan andolan ki aad me Bharat ko todne wale log, tukde-tukde log peechhe hokar andolan ke kandhe se goli chalayenge to unke khilaf sakht karyawahi ki jayegi. Yeh bhi baaat saaf hai isme, koi samjhauta nahi karenge (But if under the guise of the protest of the peasants, those who are dividing the country, the tukde-tukde people shoot from the shoulders of the movement, we will take strict measures against them. This is clear … there will be no compromise). “
Referring to human rights activists housed in prisons, Prasad said: “Who are these people who want to break the country? Lawsuits are now being filed to release suspected intellectuals who are in jail for participating in riots in Delhi and Maharashtra. The police have filed indictments, they cannot get a bond from the court as the trials are ongoing. Now these people have taken refuge under the farmers’ movement because of their interest, but we will not allow them to succeed in their goal ”.
These comments come as some farmer groups distanced themselves from one of the key groups, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), whose members, on 10 December, waved posters of jailed activists arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case and demanded your release.
“First they called us Khalistanis, then they called us Pakistanis, now they call us Naxals … the same people insist on the importance of dialogue,” the group’s leader, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, told The Indian Express.
Prasad’s comments echo those of Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who alleged that the protests were being hijacked by the hard left and Maoist elements.
Incidentally, on December 11, in an interview with The Indian Express, Prasad had given a more conciliatory note. “The way out will be, democracy is, ultimately, dialogue. Democracy is, ultimately, persuasion. Ultimately, democracy is spreading. The Prime Minister put it very well yesterday in a different context: kuchh kahiye, kuchh suniye. This kahiye suniye (discussion) will last (the) last 20 years. “
On Sunday in New Delhi, Tomar, who has also held talks with farmers, echoed Goyal and Prasad. “There are some forces in the country that oppose any good work that can contribute to the progress of India … they always try to deceive the country,” Tomar said after meeting with a group of agricultural leaders from Uttarakhand who had expressed support. to farm laws.
“Remember, when the bill to repeal Article 370 of Kashmir was introduced, there were leftist elements who were opposed to its removal. When the citizenship amendment bill came … they opposed it. When the agrarian reform bills arrived, they too opposed it. When the issue of the temple of Ram came up, there was also opposition. There are some people who simply have to oppose and their intention has become to weaken the country, ”Tomar said.
On December 11, Tomar asked protesting farmers to be vigilant about the misuse of its platform by what it called “antisocial elements” as well as “leftist and Maoist elements.”
Tomar’s remarks came after a meeting in Delhi on Sunday with Union Interior Minister Amit Shah, which was attended by Punjab BJP leaders, including the head of the state unit Ashwani Kumar Sharma and the secretary general. of the organization (Chandigarh and Punjab) Dinesh Kumar.
After that meeting, Kumar told The Indian Express: “We gave our feedback on the situation in Punjab. Most of the farmers in the state are busy with their agricultural activities. “
Kumar also alleged that the political parties were “misleading” the farmers.
“The Congress Party started this movement but has now lost control over it. The peasant movement has passed into the hands of Naxalites, leftists and Khalistanis. Therefore, the subject has become sensitive. The protesting farmers must not allow anyone to throw back the Punjab to its days of unrest, “said Kumar.
When asked about the possibility of another round of talks, he said: “The government is always ready for talks, but protesting farmers must understand that they must send a smaller group of representatives so that a consensus can emerge.”
At the Singhu border in Delhi, farmers’ unions reiterated their demand to repeal all three laws. Speaking to reporters, farmers ‘leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni said that the heads of all protesting farmers’ unions will observe a one-day hunger strike on Monday. Dharnas will also be organized in all district headquarters, he said.
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