Amit Shah appreciated Manohar Lal Khattar’s decision to cancel the farm laws event (Archive)
Chandigarh:
Interior Minister Amit Shah has advised the Haryana government to refrain from holding events in favor of the farm law or outreach programs in the state until further notice, the state Education Minister Kanwar told reporters. Pal Gujjar, on Wednesday.
Shah’s advice comes just days after Prime Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was forced to cancel a meeting in a village near Karnal, where he was to speak in support of the controversial laws. Khattar dismissed the event after irate farmers clashed with police at the scene.
“After what happened in Karnal, the interior minister has advised the government not to carry out any outreach programs in favor of the agricultural laws. We do not want a confrontation with the farmers,” Gujjar said.
The Haryana minister also attacked protesting farmers.
“The whole state saw how farmers behaved on Sunday, when Chief Minister Khattar was scheduled to address a meeting,” he added.
Mobile phone footage showed farmers storming onto the platform, smashing posters and banners and knocking chairs off the stage. Mr. Khattar was supposed to arrive by helicopter, but the farmers made it clear that they were in no mood to listen, forcing the Chief Minister to return without landing.
That same day, hundreds of people had gathered at a nearby toll plaza, where they were detained by the police. However, despite the water cannons, tear gas and lathi charges, they managed to break through the barricades and reach the event site, where they continued their rampage.
The farmers looted the meeting place despite attempts by the police to arrest them.
“Around 5,000 people were waiting for him to come and speak, but it didn’t happen. Faced with the protests, I asked the helicopter to come back because I didn’t want to worsen the law and order situation,” the Chief Minister said later media.
Blaming the opposition for the protests, he said, “farmers never behave this way.”
Gujjar said today that Interior Minister Amit Shah had also appreciated Haryana’s chief minister’s decision not to address the meeting and potentially inflame things.
Across India, tens of thousands of farmers and their supporters are protesting against three laws passed (amid utter chaos) by the BJP-led central government in September last year.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court suspended implementation of the laws, as it expressed concern for “the lives and property of those affected” and criticized the center for its apparent inability to resolve an upheaval that has dragged on for several weeks.
The court ordered a committee, whose members include those who have publicly endorsed the laws, to resolve the matter. The farmers welcomed the stay, but refused to participate or negotiate with the committee, saying that “these members have been justifying the laws.”
Eight rounds of talks have been held to resolve protests over the laws, which the center says will benefit farmers by allowing them to sell produce at markets and at prices of their choice.
Neither party has been willing to compromise on its position. The farmers want the laws and a legal guarantee for MSP removed, while the center has offered a written guarantee for MSP but says the laws will remain.
A ninth round of talks has been scheduled for Friday, and farmers also said they will hold a tractor rally in Delhi on January 26, Republic Day.
.
